The Dragon Riders
by No One's Fool
Summary: Similar to Eragon, but set on this planet. Seven children, all less than eighteen, and their friends have dragons. But why? What is the purpose of this? Read and find out! DISCONTINUED PENDING REWRITE
1. The Move and Discoveries

The Dragon Riders

Protagonists:

Alina: 15, the oldest in the family, can be mischievous but not often. Mostly serious minded. Loves to write. Black hair and blue/green eyes

Jonathan: 15, Alina's twin brother. Is almost always mischievous but kind-hearted. Loves to test out pranks on his twin. Black hair and blue/green eyes

Jacob: 12, one of the most serious children in the house. However, he does play Playmobil with Justin, Amanda and Adair. Occasionally Amara is allowed to join. Brown hair and brown eyes.

Justin: 12, Jacob's twin brother. He's also Jacob's polar opposite. Loves to have fun, often plays tricks on Jonathan. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Amanda: 13, very mature for her age. Loves to read. Dark brown hair, green eyes.

Adair: 13, Amanda's twin sister. Can almost always be found outside. Likes to draw, but prefers to climb trees.

Amara: 9, the youngest and therefore somewhat spoiled. Used to getting her way. Most of the time is sweet, but has bratty moments.

Supporting Characters:

Parents Alyssa and Jonathan Sr., typical parents. Kind and loving, can be firm when needed.

Best friends:

Kenneth, lives next to the family, blond hair and green eyes. He reads a lot, but also likes to ride his four-wheeler around.

Kendra, Kenneth's twin sister. Reads almost constantly, desires a better social life. Blond hair, green eyes.

Haley, lives across the street. Very sports oriented, plays volleyball, soccer. Is also a gymnast. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Chapter One: The Move

Alina: I woke after a sixteen hour drive and stretched. I looked out the window and saw a house, and realized we'd arrived at our new home. I got out of the moving truck and helped carry my stuff up to my new room. It was large, and airy, with a balcony and six windows.

The balcony stretched all the way around the second floor, and all the bedrooms opened up to it. I grinned and pushed my bed to a corner. I set up my room so that everything was against a wall, leaving me plenty of room to walk around. I hung up my butterfly wind chime and listened to the cheerful tinkling of the little metal rods hitting together.

My twin brother Jonathan walked by, carrying an enormous box that said "Jonathan's C.D. Collection" on it. I grinned and went out onto the balcony.

Then, I heard a rustling in my closet. Gulping nervously, I opened the door. There was only a white ball in the closet. No, not a ball. It was too oval shaped to be a ball. It shook, and I realized it was an egg! An enormous egg, at that.

I picked it up and set it on my mattress, watching it with interest. I left it to eat dinner about twenty minutes later. On the way back upstairs, I heard another rustle. There was another egg in Jonathan's room, only this one had a grayish sheen to it. I put it on his bed and left a note telling him not to break it, whatever he did! Then, I went back into my own room.

I flopped back on the bed, noticing a faint blue sheen on the egg I hadn't seen before. I jumped, and screamed as the door to my room opened suddenly.

Adair stuck her head in and grinned, then her eyes widened as she saw the blueish egg.

"Whoa, what's that?" I shrugged.

"I dunno, some kind of egg I think. It's sorta blue." Adair came into my room and looked at the egg, turning it over in her her hands. "Wherever did you find this?"

I shrugged. "It was in my closet. Why?" She made a satisfied noise and left. I followed, and saw her stick her head in her closet, then scream. I ran in, and saw her pointing at a large oval shaped thing in the corner of her closet. I reached in and picked up the egg, for that's what it was. I handed it to her.

"Take good care of it. Whatever hatches, don't let it die." She snorted and wrapped the egg in her fleece blanket. Her egg had a dark green sheen.

I suddenly had an idea. "Hey, everyone who's not upstairs under sixteen please come upstairs now!" I shouted. The rest of my siblings thundered up the stairs to join me.

"Thank you. Now, if everyone would please search their rooms for anything that looks like this?" I held my egg up so they could see it. I heard a mass gasp. Justin immediately turned and started searching. The rest followed suit.

Amanda was the first to shout. "I found one!" We all ran to her room. Sure enough, there was a purplish egg nestled against her chest. I wrapped it in her fleece blanket and told her to take care of it.

Justin found a reddish one next, then Jacob found a goldish one. Jonathan's egg was sitting on his blanket, comfortably resting in its nest of fleece. I ran back into my own room and wrapped the egg in my own fleece blanket.

I sat watching it all night, fancying I saw it moving. I grinned as I wondered what it could be. An ostrich, maybe. Or an Emu. I really didn't have a clue!


	2. First Hatching

Chapter Two: First Hatching

Jonathan: I woke the next morning and immediately groped around for the light-switch. I anxiously inspected the grayish egg, and noticed a few amber-gold streaks I hadn't seen before. I shrugged and set the egg gently back in its nest.

I went downstairs, after glancing at Alina. She was still asleep, clutching the egg in its fleece blanket to her. I smiled and went to eat breakfast.

While doing school that morning, I felt an intense urge to go check on the egg. I got up, and got permission to go get it. Mom didn't know how big it was until I showed it to her. She gasped at the size.

"What is that, an ostrich?" I shrugged.

"I don't know, mom. Could be anything, really." Suddenly, it shook. I hurriedly put it back in my room, despite the urge to keep it close to me. Amara was a little jealous that there wasn't one in her room, but she got over it quickly enough.

The day went on like this, with one of us always popping off to check on everybody's eggs.

Finally, it was time for bed. I was exhausted, after putting all our stuff from moving away and doing school all day. I woke the next morning and felt the egg. It felt a little firmer, and I wondered if it was getting close to hatching. Just in case, I wrapped my electric blanket around it and set it on it's lowest setting.

The days passed quickly, and each day the egg got more and more active. It was the fourth day when I noticed it moving almost continuously. I watched with interest as a little crack appeared, but then I remembered it was hatching and ran to get everybody else.

We all watched in fascination as the crack widened, and a little snout poked through a small hole. I gasped. "

A reptile?" The egg fell in half, and a little gray body fell on my bedspread. I smiled, but then I just about fell over backwards as it unfurled, of all things, wings! They had amber-gold wing bones and a row of amber-gold spikes ran down his neck.

A dragon? "I didn't know those existed!" I shouted.The little gray dragon looked at me. It made a pitiful noise, then just about fell off the bed. I caught it just as it was tumbling off the edge. It made a noise I identified as affectionate. Alina watched with jealousy as I cuddled the little dragon against my chest. It rubbed it's tiny head against my chin. Adair watched it closely.

"What are you going to name him?"

I thought. "Trahern. Yes, that should do nicely." Alina went to see her egg. I heard a sigh, and deduced that her dragon hadn't hatched yet. I went downstairs to show mom. I cuddled little Trahern under my arm and thundered downstairs. "

Hey mom, look at this!" I shouted. Mom looked up from her latest scrapbook project.

"Yes dear - good heaven, what's that?"

I grinned. "It's a dragon, mom. Can I keep him? His name's Trahern," I added. Mom looked shocked. "Holy mackerel, it IS a dragon! Yes, I guess you may keep him."

I gave mom a hug. "Thanks." Trahern unfurled his wings and chirped. Mom grinned as he sort of flopped out of my arms. She caught him, and he rubbed his head against her arm.

She grinned again. "Affectionate, isn't he?" I smiled and took him to the kitchen.

Luckily Mom had stocked up on meat. I asked her to fry some. She did, and I fed him. Finally, his little belly bulging, he fell asleep. I grinned and took him upstairs.

Trahern curled up on his electric blanket and started making cute little noises that I identified as dragon snores.


	3. More Hatchings

Chapter Three: More Hatchings

Adair: I watched little Trahern sleeping and smiled. He was so cute! I went to check on my own egg, and heard a gasp of surprise. I ran into Amanda's room, and saw her staring at her egg, which was moving rather a lot. I was just going to call the others when it stopped.

Amanda sighed. "Bummer. I was hoping she was hatching!" I raised an eyebrow. "She?" Amanda blushed.

"Well, it is a purple egg." I grinned and shook my head.

Suddenly Justin shouted, "IT'S HATCHING! Hurry, guys, my dragon's hatching!" I ran into Justin's room with the others just in time to see a little red dragon flop out of its egg into Justin's arms. "Watcha going to name him?" Amara asked after a shocked second.

Justin smiled at the little red dragon. "Byron." he said. Byron had black spikes running down his neck, and black wing bones.

Amara nodded, but her eyes looked confused. "Byron? Okay." She walked out of the room dejectedly. I grinned. Amara was definitely jealous. Byron made a hungry noise and Justin took him downstairs to eat.

I got on the Internet and looked up Dragons. There, I found at least ten entries. One said that dragons have slow metabolisms and only need to eat once a month. That was good, considering that we were going to have six. Another said that cooked meat is best, but that they prefer it raw. I gagged. "Yuck." How they knew what dragons ate is beyond me, but they were right.

After logging off the Internet, I went back upstairs. Amanda was still sitting on her bed, looking at the purple egg dejectedly. Suddenly, it moved. It got a tiny crack. It moved again, and the crack lengthened. I yelled for everyone to come quick, that Amanda's egg was hatching. Justin came running back up the stairs, still holding Byron. Jonathan ran out of his room, with Trahern stumbling along behind. I guess he wasn't very good at walking yet. At the precise moment Alina arrived, the egg split evenly in two pieces, and the little purple dragon looked up at us with large, golden eyes. She had a row of light gray-green spikes on her neck, and the bones in her wings were the same color.

"Hi, Fabian!" Amanda cooed at her. Fabian looked at Trahern and Byron and flapped her large purple wings. I believe they were longer than her body. Trahern stretched his neck out and touched noses with Fabian. Byron made a plaintive noise, so Justin knelt next to the other dragons and let him stick his nose next to theirs. It was a cute sight.

For a brief second, I wished that my own egg would hurry up and hatch. I hoped it'd be a girl. _Arra_, I thought. _What a nice name. _If it wasn't a girl, I'd have to get out my baby names book. I had scrounged it up in one of Mom's boxes. I stared wistfully at the dragons, sighing as Trahern licked Fabian. Fabian pulled back and squawked in surprise.

Since she was really young and not in control of her balance yet, she fell over backwards, beating her wings in a vain effort to turn herself over. Amanda tentatively reached out and flipped her over. Fabian cooed and snuggled next to Amanda.

"You know," Jonathan said. "I do believe she likes you."

Amanda grinned. "Yes, I know." Then she picked Fabian up and took her downstairs. I heard an

"Another one?"

and grinned. "I don't think mom's happy."

Then, Mom gasped. "Aw, she is _really_ cute." I shook my head.

Finally, I had to go to bed. I curled up next to the egg, hoping it wouldn't hatch in the middle of the night. As I started to fall asleep, I smiled, remembering when Dad had gotten home from his overtime. Three little dragons had greeted him at the door, cooing and rubbing against his legs. He had been very surprised, indeed.

The next morning, Alina poked her head in my room, followed by a little gray head. "Trahern, go see Jonathan."

Trahern pulled his head out of my sight, then tripped. Jonathan's sleepy voice said, "Trahern, did you fall over again?"

Trahern made a pitiful noise that managed to say, "Help me!" I heard a bed creak, then padded footsteps coming to Trahern's aid.

Alina smiled back at Trahern, then said, "Hey Adair, what do you want for breakfast, blueberry pancakes or apple cinnamon pancakes?" I chose apple cinnamon, and Alina thundered downstairs to tell Mom.

I got up and dressed quickly, because it was kind of chilly in the attic. I went downstairs and ate, then came back upstairs. I passed Jacob's room and gasped. "JACOB!" Everyone, including Mom and Dad, came running.

Jacob brushed past everyone and picked up the egg. Dad gasped as it got a crack, then the top popped off. The little golden dragon poked his head out of the hole, and chirped loudly. Trahern, Byron and Fabian all went over and greeted the new arrival. Jacob promptly named the little guy Dion.

When he was finished feeding him, he laid Dion on his bed and arranged a bunch of pillows around him to keep Dion from rolling off. Dion had silver spikes and silver wing bones.


	4. Last Hatching

Chapter Four: Last Hatching

**A**manda: I watched Dion sleeping. Fabian looked back at me as if to make sure I was still there, then tried to jump onto the bed. She failed. I picked her up and set her next to Dion. She cooed and licked his head, then leaped into my arms. Once there, she crawled onto my shoulder and under my hair.

Suddenly, Adair got a funny look on her face and left. We all followed. Adair was staring at the green egg and gaping.

"Pick it up!" Dad said, shoving the egg into her arms. The little green snout that poked through a tiny hole in the side of the egg jerked Adair out of her daze. With a cry, she put her finger in the hole and pulled. The whole side of the egg broke off, and the little green dragon inside froze. Adair shivered, and looked at me.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" She asked. I shrugged. Jonathan examined Trahern, and then Fabian.

"Let me see it," He said. Adair carefully reached in and pulled out the green dragon, flipping it over. Jonathan nodded.

"Definitely a girl. See the little spike on each Trahern's feet? I think that means he's a boy, because Byron and Dion have them, too." Adair grinned at the little green dragon and said,

"I think I'll call her Arra." Arra had dark purple wing bones and spikes.

Alina frowned, poking her lip out in a mock pout.

"What is it?" Adair asked.

"Everyone has a dragon but me!" Alina answered. The next two days passed by in a flash, dominated by seeing all the dragons grow.

Finally, Alina shouted, "I think it's happening!" I shot up the stairs, followed by everybody else. Alina was cradling the egg reverently in her arms, and jumped as it cracked in two.

The little blue dragon stood, and promptly fell over again.

"Careful, Javis." Alina said to her. Javis looked at the other five dragons and tried to get off the bed. Alina carefully set her on the floor. Surprisingly, Javis was as big as the other dragons. Alina laughed as Javis tried to nip her wing.

Six pairs of golden eyes stared at us, at almost the same height. Eight pairs of blue eyes stared back. Finally, Dad burst out laughing. Javis jumped, then flapped her wings, stirring up dust. Alina sneezed and smiled. Javis cooed hungrily and stood on her back legs, pawing at Alina's pants leg. She had burnt orange spikes on her neck and burnt orange wing bones.

"Oh, all right, Javis. I know you're hungry. Thank goodness you only need to eat once a month!" She leaned over and picked Javis up, went downstairs and turned on the frying pan. The aroma of frying meat filled the air, and the other dragons looked at us expectantly.

"No, you just ate a little over four days ago, Trahern." Jonathan said. Trahern sat on his haunches and pouted.


	5. Growing Up

Chapter Five: Growing Up

Jacob: Amanda grinned at Fabian as she stuck her head sleepily out from under Amanda's hair. Dion looked up at me and chirped his curiosity at Fabian's odd behavior. I reassured him.

"Don't worry, Dion. Fabian is just tired. You will be, too, when you have a growth spurt." Immediately, I felt a mixed emotion in my head. I saw a picture of Dion growing rapidly, and then a clouded white color.

"No, not that fast." Dion lowered his head, examining the carpet. Suddenly, he pounced. He came back up with a silverfish dangling from his mouth.

"Yes, I guess you may eat that," I said in answer to his questioning noise. "I don't see why you can't."

That night, with Dion curled up beside me, I slept well. I woke in the morning to find Dion bigger. Well, not much bigger, but an inch or two wider through the chest.

All the dragons were relatively the same size, and they got along nicely. They were troublemakers as well, as toddlers will be. Once, I found them chewing up Mom's tissue box. I tapped each of their noses and took away the cardboard. They got into all sorts of pickles as well.

Dion was the most unpredictable. I found him more than once hanging from the ceiling fan, not able to get down. I raised an eyebrow the first time, grinned the second time and laughed outright the third.

Dion glared.

I reached up and grabbed him, rescuing the poor guy from the evil fan. They were a proper band of miscreants all right. Little Arra seemed to be the ringleader. Trahern took charge a lot, but Arra was always in the thick of things.

Javis seemed a little wary of Trahern at first, but when he saved her from falling off the couch by grabbing her tail, she decided he was all right. By the end of the first week we had them, they were fast friends.

By the end of the second week, they were as big as a large dog, and the third they could barely fit out the door. After that, they were sentenced to living outside.

Luckily, only people who believed in dragons could see them. That means that the neighbors wouldn't notice them other than the occasional large footprint. And those could be easily explained, most of the time.

However, the six cows that went missing each month were harder to cover up. The dragons eventually started eating deer instead.

When they were two months old, they could look through the second story window while standing on their back feet.

When they were three months old, they could look through the second story window by lowering their necks and putting their heads next to the windows. That's when Alina decided to try something. She locked herself in her room with all her sewing supplies and stayed in there all day, only coming out to eat.

When she came out the second day, she was holding a bundle of leather. I deduced she had taken apart her old leather jacket, the one that didn't fit and was terribly out of style. It had gone down to the floor, and there was plenty of fabric from it. She went outside and called Javis with a sharp whistle.


	6. Learning to Fly

Chapter Six: Learning to Fly

Justin: I looked outside just in time to see Javis walk past. Her wings were loosely folded along her back, and she seemed very content with herself. I noticed feathers stuck in her teeth and grinned. She'd been defending her friends from the crows again. Alina beckoned Javis and said something. I don't know what, since I was inside and she was outside, but it made Javis unfurl her wings and jog over.

Alina shook out the leather bundle she was carrying and attached it to Javis. I realized it was a saddle. Alina said something else to Javis, who leaned down and took Alina's shirt delicately in her teeth, lifting Alina into the saddle. Alina grinned and told Javis to do something, pointing to the sky. Javis took a short, loping run and launched herself into the air.

I fell over backwards in my haste to go outside. I ran out into the backyard and waved to the neighbor, then searched the sky for Alina and Javis. The neighbor, a young man who was older than Alina and Jonathan by about two years, waved back and ran up the hill to join me. "Hey, kid. I'm Kenneth. Who're you?" I shook his hand. "Justin. Nice to meet you, Kenneth." Kenneth looked up at the sky as well, following my gaze. "What's so interesting, Justin?"

I shook my head. "Um, Javis...uh, Alina..." my voice trailed off. Kenneth looked confused.

"Alina?"

I grinned. "My older sister."

Kenneth's face brightened with understanding. "Oh, yeah. Her. What about her?"

I swallowed, aware that I might have said too much. "Um, it's kind of a long story. I'm sure you have something better to do."

Kenneth folded his arms. "Nope. I'm out of school for the summer, and I want to know what's going on 'round here. I saw your sister calling something, sounded like 'Javis, but I'm not sure. I had to go clean up a mess my...pet made. What's going on?"

I swallowed again. "Well, first: Do you believe in mythical creatures?"

Kenneth raised an eyebrow. "Like Unicorns and dragons and Phoenixes and such?" I nodded. He shrugged. "Sure, why not."

I gulped. "Well, we have in our possession six dragons of various colors."

Kenneth nodded, than his face got a shocked look. "You mean, like, real dragons?"

I grinned. "Yep. Six of them. Want to meet them? All except Javis, who's taking a flight right now." I called the dragons over.

Kenneth didn't notice them until Trahern's shadow fell over him. Then he whirled around and grinned, muttering "finally," under his breath. Trahern cocked his head at him. Byron looked at me.

_Who's this, Justin?_ He asked. He had discovered Mind-speaking when he was two months old.

"This is Kenneth. Kenneth, this is Byron, Trahern, Arra, Fabian and Dion." I said, indicating each. As I said their names, they bowed their heads in greeting, being extremely polite. Kenneth bowed a little, still looking pale. Byron was impressed by his politeness.

_You're very polite, Kenneth_. He said, favoring him with a rare Mind-speak. It wasn't often that a dragon chose to talk to anyone but their riders and other dragons.

Kenneth got a funny look on his face. "Thanks. Excuse my lack of knowledge, but which of you regal creatures said that?"

Byron snorted. _I did. Me. Byron._

Kenneth bowed. I smiled. A young woman with blonde hair similar to Kenneth's called him.

"Coming, Kendra." He smiled at me. "Twin sister." Then he loped down to his yard. I grinned, then swung myself onto Byron. Actually, I had never actually flown before. I had Byron take a test flight first, then got on. Byron had to help, of course, because I was not skilled at dragon mounting. By the time I was ready, Javis and Alina had returned. She lent me her riding saddle, which was the wrong size for her.

I sat down and said, _All right, Byron. You can start flying!_ Byron took a long lope, then jumped. I closed my eyes briefly against the wind, then opened them as the sensation flying took over. I looked down and saw the farmlands surrounding our house. They were tiny, making up small patches in what looked like a large, spreading patchwork quilt. I raised my face to the wind and smiled. _How's this, Justin? Fun?_ I nodded. "Yeah." I smiled and raised my arms up in the air.

"YAHOO!"

Byron smiled a dragony smile. _Wonderful, isn't it?_ Suddenly, Trahern appeared beside us.

_Come quick! Amara is on the roof!_

Byron swooped around and we headed home as fast as his wings could take him. We got there as Amara was about to sit down. But just as she did, she lost her balance. Screaming, she windmilled her arms as she tried to stop her fall. I realized we weren't going to get there in time. I screamed in agony.

"AMARA!"

Suddenly, a bronze dragon with deep blue wing bones and spikes swooped out of nowhere and his rider caught Amara in midair. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then, as the bronze dragon landed, I caught a glimpse of long cut blonde hair. I asked Byron to land, then just about fell off in my hurry to see if Amara was okay. I ran over to the Amara's savior and thanked him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved her!"

Kenneth, for that's who the rider was, smiled. "No problem. What were you doing on the roof, Amara?"

She blushed. "Watching the dragons fly."

I suddenly felt very tired, And my head started to hurt. "I'm going inside." I said. I held a hand to my head and walked indoors. Alina looked up from her book, flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, smiled, and went back to reading. I grinned, then took an Advil. A few hours later, when my headache was still there, I took my temperature. I had had to wait for the Advil to wear off. I had a 105.6 temperature. Mom rushed me to the hospital, Alina staying home to watch the rest of us, even though she wanted to come as well.


	7. Yet Another Hatching

Chapter Seven: Yet Another Hatching

Alina: Javis was worried about Justin. Byron looked a little redder than usual, which meant he was worried sick, according to my book.

I went outside to see Jonathan talking to the neighbor boy. "Hi, Alina!" Jonathan shouted.

I winced. "Not so loud, Jonathan."

He shrugged in resignation. "Okay. Alina, this is Kenneth. Kenneth, Alina."

I bowed a little, first to Kenneth then to the bronze dragon. "Who's this handsome guy?" The dragon bowed his head, a sure sign of embarrassment. Kenneth scratched his blue neck spikes fondly. "This is Conan."

I smiled. "Nice name for a nice dragon." Conan turned a brighter bronze, which meant he was probably blushing.

Kenneth grinned. "Conan's a little shy, I'm afraid."

Javis walked up. _Oh, who's this? _

I grinned. _This is Conan, Javis._

Javis opened her wings and flapped them. _Okay. Hi, Conan! _I shook my head in amusement. She was something else.

Kenneth laughed. "This must be Javis." I nodded, wondering briefly how he knew. Then, before I could ask, Kenneth said, "Justin told me their names, and said that you and Javis had been on a flight while he was introducing them."

I nodded. "Oh. All right." Conan raised his head a little, and looked at the bottom of the hill. Javis followed his gaze. _Who's that?_ Then, in reply to his answer, she thought, _Ah, all right. Sister, huh?_ Conan bobbed his head in acknowledgment. I craned my head to see what they were talking about, and saw a silver dragon with emerald spikes and wing bones walking around. A blond haired girl who looked about the same age as Kenneth was chasing after her.

"That's Kendra."

I jumped. Kenneth had walked silently up behind me and was looking over my shoulder. "Who's Kendra?" I asked.

Kenneth grinned. "Twin sister. And that's Amaris."

I smiled. "Oh."

Javis walked over and lowered her head nearly to my level. _Alina, Byron says that Justin is all right and on his way home._ I breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

Kenneth looked confused. "What?"

I smiled at the utter confusion on his face. "Justin had to go to the hospital. He had a 105 something temperature."

Kenneth's face lost its curiosity, and gained concern. "And he's going to be all right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Javis just said Byron said that he would."

Kenneth looked at Javis. "You sure?"

Javis nodded. "Yes," She said in a gravelly voice.

I grinned. She could talk, but she preferred to Mind-speak because it was hard for her to form the words.

I scratched the spikes on the back of Javis' neck fondly, and she arched her neck with pleasure. Conan must have said something to Kenneth, because he turned to go. "Well, see ya!"

I waved and watched them go back to their house, and sat down on the ground. A few minutes later, I decided to go back inside and get a snack. I came back out with an apple and watched Javis chasing birds. She was kindhearted and always let them get away once she caught them, and they seemed to like her. One even landed on her head and slipped its head underneath its wing.

After finishing my apple, I called Javis and swung onto her neck, between the largest two spikes. After a short run-and-leap, she took off. I watched the fields passing below as Javis flew over our city. She landed in a library parking lot, and I ran in to get a book. I chose a book about a girl in ancient Rome and mounted Javis again.

I saw a small toddler holding her mother's hand raise her hand and point to us, but her mother just tugged her other hand and hustled her inside. I smiled, then held on while Javis took off. While in the air, I thought about Javis. I thought about her hatching, and the day she had learned how to Mind-speak, and all the other major events in her life.

_I'm very smart._ Javis said smugly. _I'm lots smarter than Dodger._

I laughed. _It's true that Dodgers a little crazy, but it isn't nice to say he's dumb._

Javis snorted. _I didn't! I only said he wasn't as smart as me._ I smiled and didn't reply, as that answer was probably as good as any of her other ones. We got home, and I got off.

Justin was sitting on the couch, his eyes closed. Mom grinned. "He'll be fine. And guess what Amara found in her room?" I shrugged. Amara walked up and held out an egg with no sheen. I found that odd. "I get a dragon, too!"

I grinned. "Good for you, Amara! When do you think she'll hatch?" Amara shrugged. "I dunno. Soon, I hope." she snuggled the egg against her chest, gasping as it shook a little.

I wrapped a jacket around the egg. "It'll shake a lot, but when it shakes continuously, it's probably ready to hatch." Javis stuck her head through the door. _Does this mean I get a little sister?_ I grinned again. "Maybe, Javis. Maybe." Javis made a satisfied noise and tried to pull her head back out the door. It got stuck. I rolled my eyes and went to help her. Ten minutes of wrestling later, we got it out. Mom went to fix dinner, and Dad laid down on the couch to take a nap. Getting up at four each morning does that to you.

"DINNER'S READY!" Mom shouted after a half hour or so. I came into the dining room and sat down. The others ran in about three seconds later. We ate our pot roast and went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up before all the others. Javis stuck her snout through my open window. _Rise and shine, sleepyhead! It's time for our morning flight!_ I laughed and got dressed, putting on my favorite pair of loose jeans and a jean jacket of the same shade.

I climbed out the window and onto Javis' back, and hung on while she took off. We flew over fields and houses, laughing when the cows ran in terror. I couldn't blame them. After all, they were only stupid beasts who didn't understand that Javis had already eaten for that month.

When we got back, it was close to six o'clock in the morning and I was getting hungry. I ate and sat down to read my book.

Four days passed in this fashion, then Amara shouted something about her egg. We all ran to her room just in time to see a little white dragon with sapphire neck spikes and wing bones fall out of her egg and look around with large, confused, golden eyes. Amara got a look of awe on her face, and said, "I think I'll call her Estelle." Estelle looked around, cooing.

Mom groaned. "Great. Another dragon. Just what'll we tell your father?" I shrugged.


	8. Making Friends

Chapter Eight: Making Friends

Jonathan: I watched Estelle with great interest. Trahern peeked in.

_**Who's that, Jonathan? I don't remember seeing her before**_

I grinned. "That's Estelle, Trahern. She's just hatched." Trahern stuck his nose in and snorted. Estelle fell over backwards, squawking in alarm.

Amara hurriedly picked her up, snuggling her close. "It's okay, sweetie. I'll take care of you." she glared at Trahern. "Be more careful!" Trahern looked a little sheepish, so Amara walked over and patted his nose. "I'm sorry I yelled." then she held up Estelle so they could touch noses. Estelle sniffed, then sneezed. "God bless you!" Amara said.

_**Bless you,**_ Trahern said a few seconds after Amara. Estelle cooed and fell asleep. The week passed quickly, with Estelle getting into nearly all the predicaments our dragons had gotten into.

Dad seemed to like Estelle, so he wasn't mad that she was the seventh dragon. In fact, both Mom and Dad loved her. She never destroyed anything, and she was very obedient. Tell her no, and she never got into whatever it was again.

When she was too big to stay in the house, the other dragons looked after her. It was kind of funny to see her, the little white dragon, next to all the others. They could all look over the roof just by raising their heads a little. Little Estelle had to stand up and stretch her neck up as far as it would go. She grew quickly, though, and it wasn't long until she wasn't going to get any bigger. She was younger and more immature, but the other dragons included her in their games. I smiled as I watched them playing one day, laughing as Conan and Amaris joined them.

Suddenly, an unknown brown female dragon with chartreuse spikes and wing bones joined in the game. I ran outside with Alina not far behind. A girl puffed up a few minutes later. She looked around our age, and had wavy brown hair.

"So sorry." the girl panted. "Larita loves to play games, and she couldn't resist when she saw this one. We live across the street," the girl said, extending her hand. Alina and I shook her hand, making polite noises as the girl introduced herself as Haley.

Larita walked over and said something to Haley, who grinned and excused them. "We have to go home, my mom wants us." they left.

"What did you think of them?" Alina asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Larita is all right, but Haley is sort of weird."

Alina laughed. "I agree. C'mon, maybe we can get a snack and then go to the library."

I took off running. Since my legs were longer, I beat Alina to the house. I grabbed the last two cheesesticks and hid one behind my back. Alina skidded inside and looked inside the refrigerator, then glared at me.

"You ate the last cheesestick, didn't you?"

I put a falsely innocent look on my face. "Why do you say that?"

Alina tackled me, laughing. "How could you eat it, wretch!"

We tussled for a while, then I finally took the cheesestick out of my pocket and gave it to her. She smacked my shoulder, then went to ask mom if we could go to the library.

Mom, of course, said yes, probably trying to get us out of the house. Alina and I went outside to call Trahern and Javis, talking about stuff in general.

"Jonathan?" Alina asked suddenly.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Why do you think they chose us? The dragons, I mean. And what is our purpose? We were brought together for a reason," Alina finished, patting Javis's shoulder affectionately.

I shrugged, shivering as Trahern took off. The sensation of leaving your stomach behind never ceases to annoy. "I really don't know, Alina. Maybe there isn't a reason. Maybe they just liked us. Or maybe we're really from another planet engulfed entirely in war and were brought here to be safe and we're really royalty?"

Alina snorted. "Yeah, right. And I'm the queen of England."

We flew the rest of the way in silence, thinking.

_A/N: That was short, sorry. But...why_ were _the kids and dragons brought together? Why do all the neighbors have dragons, too? Is there really a possibility that they were brought together for a reason? Read, review, and find out! No reviews, no chapter nine._


	9. The Library

Chapter Nine: The Library

_A/N: Yes, another chapter from Alina's POV. Couldn't resist, she is my favorite character and all. Plus what goes on in this chapter concerns her._

Alina: When Jonathan and I finally got to the library, I asked Javis to land somewhere nearby, but not to close. I didn't want anyone to see me appear out of thin air. That would cause unnecessary questions.

_Of course,_ Javis chuckled. _I understand completely._ She went off to a nearby open area to play with Trahern, and I followed Jonathan inside the library.

I walked through the doors and breathed deeply, inhaling the wonderful scent of all those books. Ink, paper, they both smelled good to me, probably because to me, there was nothing better than a good book.

"Alina, look!" Jonathan whispered, pointing to a poster. It said "Dragon Film tonight," and had a picture of what was supposed to be a dragon. It looked nothing like one. The film-makers had obviously never seen a dragon, which was understandable. After all, they only made movies and most likely didn't believe in dragons themselves.

I shrugged. "Looks nothing like Javis, but come on. We're not here to look at posters, we're here to get books!" I immediately went into the young adult section, despite the fact that I'd read every good book worth reading there. I wasn't quite brave enough to try the adult section yet. One book had been all it took to scare me sufficiently enough to make me want to stay out of it.

Jonathan looked through the computer games, then the movies. I couldn't figure out why, since he wasn't able to get movies out without a parent (or adult over eighteen). For some reason, our library had a rule that you had to be over eighteen to get out movies. And you had to be over twenty-one to get out R rated movies, which I understood.

Why anyone would _want_ to get out an R rated movie, though, was beyond me. I only really wanted to see one, The Last of the Mohican's. I had read the book and hated the ending, and was curious to see if they stayed true to it.

I gathered my courage, and, taking a deep breath, walked into the adult section. I was looking for a book for my mother. She'd requested some fiction book that was a sequel to a book she had really liked, so I was getting it for her.

I found the book as quickly as I could and started to leave, but then a book shoved between two others caught my eye.

"To Ride a Dragon," was the title, and it had a fairly accurate picture of a flying dragon on the front. Of course, where the little figure riding sat was completely wrong, but not many people had seen dragons. You never, ever, sit between their wings. You always sit on the base of their neck, right where their body stops and their neck begins.

Out of curiosity, I grabbed the book and added it to the pile of books that I was already getting. Over half of them I had read at least twice, and most of them more than three.

Jonathan was standing near the row of computers, his arms full of books about engines and old airplanes and stuff like that, obviously looking for me. "Ready to go, Alina?" He asked.

I smiled at him. "Yep. Just let me dig out my library card." I set my pile of books on the edge of a table, where they balanced precariously, and opened my purse. I got out my card and picked my books up again, just before they fell off the table. I headed for the check-out desk and set the pile on the counter. I handed the librarian my card as Jonathan set his books beside mine.

"Oho, we've got a couple of readers," The librarian remarked as she scanned my card, handed it back and started on my books. She held up the one I'd gotten for my mother. "Are you sure your mom would let you read this?"

I nodded, expecting the question. "Yes, ma'am, I'm getting it for her." The librarian nodded, satisfied with my answer, and finished the last of my books. Handing them to me, she started on Jonathan's.

A few minutes later, our arms full of books of different sizes, shapes and colors, we walked out of the library. I was pleased with todays crop, and no doubt I would be returning most of them before the week was out.

I called Javis with a whistle, meeting her halfway, and deposited my books into the backpack hanging from the biggest of her spikes.

_Have fun, Alina?_ Javis asked in an amused tone. _You certainly got a lot of books._ She looked at the one I'd gotten for my mom. _You got that for your mother, correct?_

I sighed heavily. _Why does everyone assume I got that for me? Of course it's for my mom, I would never read anything with a title like "Blessed Nights." Ick, ick, ick._

Jonathan laughed. "Trahern says that you'd better not or he'd tell dad." I made a face at Trahern, but laughed as well.

"How did he hear me?" I asked.

"Javis let him hear." After a few seconds of listening, he added, "Trahern also says that if that guy over there doesn't stop watching you, he'll go over and scare him."

I looked over my shoulder to see a middle-aged man staring at us. I hurriedly climbed onto Javis' neck and she took off.

_Here we go!_ She said in a sing-song voice. She loved to fly, and so on the return trip, we took a round-about way to get home.

When we flew over Kenneth's house, Jonathan and I waved. Kenneth, who was helping his sister weed the garden, waved back. He nudged Kendra, who also waved, although we'd never met her. I resolved to change that soon.

When I dismounted, Javis told me she was going to go see Amaris and that she wouldn't be back until around dinner-time. I told her that was fine and she walked, or rather loped, off.

I went inside and sat down to read one of my favorite books about an Avian Shapeshifter. An hour later, Javis came back and I went outside to sit by her and finish my book. Suddenly, I looked up.

Amaris appeared in my line of vision, Kendra sitting on her back. They were flying. Amaris was very graceful, and Kendra had a determined look on her face. As Amaris did an aerial trick, Kendra dropped off. She fell like a stone, and I was getting up in a panic, when Amaris dove down and plucked her right out of the air.

I sighed in relief, and Kendra waved at me. She told Amaris something and they landed next to Javis and I.

"Hi!" Kendra said. "I'm Kenneth's sister, but then again he's probably already told you that." She offered her hand, which I shook.

"I'm Alina," I answered. "Your brother probably hasn't mentioned me. Did he tell you about my siblings? All six of them?"

Kendra laughed. "Actually, he did mention that you had six siblings. Three sets of twins and a little sister. Wow. And I thought I'd go crazy with only one brother. How do you do it?"

I grinned. "With lots of anger management practice, let me tell you. Half the time, the younger sets of twins and Amara, my littlest sister, argue and then it's like a battlefield inside the house. Usually I come out here to escape it all."

Kendra looked thoughtful. "Yes, I've seen you out here often. You usually sit on the roof and read, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes, the roof holds warmth. I'm kind of like a reptile, I guess, because I'm always cold unless I'm outside, letting the sun warm my skin."

Kendra looked surprised. "Really? Me too! Maybe it has something to do with being a teenager. How old are you?"

I had to think about that one. Can you believe I forgot my age? "Fifteen," I said at last. "I think."

Kendra stifled a laugh. "You forgot how old you were?"

I nodded, a little embarrassed. "Yes, I'm a forgetful person, I'm afraid." Javis made a noise, and Kendra and I both looked up in alarm before I realized that Javis and Amaris were exchanging compliments.

"I just turned seventeen," Kendra told me. "I'm younger than Kenneth, something he just has to rub in every chance he gets." She rolled her eyes at this, but was obviously fond of her brother.

I laughed. Kendra looked up at her mom called her, and then looked at me. "I gotta go. It was nice talking to you!" She said as she jogged off, Amaris following at a walk.

"Alina! Come inside, I have to talk to you about something really important," My mom yelled. I went inside, a small feeling of dread growing in my stomach. Was I in trouble? If so, what did I do?

Jonathan was already at the kitchen counter, sitting with dad. The younger sets of twins and Amara were nowhere to be seen, and I heard them playing upstairs.

"Alina, Jonathan," my father began, his voice grave, "I think you're old enough to handle what we're about to tell you."

Mom nodded, her voice also serious. "We'll tell the others when we think they're ready, or before, if necessary."

Mom and dad looked at each other, and dad took a deep breath. "Jonathan, Alina, we-well, what's the best way to put this, dear?" He asked, looking at mom.

Mom finished for him. "Guys, you and your dragons were brought together for a reason. We're really royalty from the planet Neptune, which is engulfed in a planet-wide war caused by aliens from Jupiter, which invaded about nineteen or twenty years ago. You were brought here to be kept safe until you and your dragons were old enough to return and save the planet."

_A/N: So what happens now? Seems that Jonathan was right! Read and review, and maybe suggest ideas for future chapters. I'm slowly losing inspiration._


	10. The Truth Comes Out

Chapter Ten: The Truth Comes Out

_A/N: Jonathan's POV again. I decided to make the story mainly about them, with the occasional chapter from someone else. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews I got for my last chapter! Again, review with what you think of this chapter and ideas for what happens next._

From the last chapter...

_"Alina, Jonathan," my father began, his voice grave, "I think you're old enough to handle what we're about to tell you."_

_Mom nodded, her voice also serious. "We'll tell the others when we think they're ready, or before, if necessary."_

_Mom and dad looked at each other, and dad took a deep breath. "Jonathan, Alina, we-well, what's the best way to put this, dear?" He asked, looking at mom._

_Mom finished for him. "Guys, you and your dragons were brought together for a reason. We're really royalty from the planet Neptune, which is engulfed in a planet-wide war caused by aliens from Jupiter, which invaded about nineteen or twenty years ago. You were brought here to be kept safe until you and your dragons were old enough to return and save the planet."_

Jonathan: I stared at mom. "Yeah, right. Okay, what did you really want to tell us?"

Alina nodded. "That's really not all that believable, mom."

Mom sighed. "Look. If you don't believe us, that's fine. But since you're all over ten, except for Amara, we're going back. You have to learn how to fight so you can lead the armies to victory. We need you to trust us."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry mom, but I can't. Your story is just to...out there. Now, really, why did you want to talk to us about?"

Dad broke in. "If you don't believe us, talk to Quillan. He'll set you straight." I looked at him in confusion. "Quillan is my dragon," Dad added.

Alina fell over. "You have dragons and you didn't even tell us? Where are they? On Neptune?" Alina's voice was slightly sarcastic as she asked the last question, but Dad nodded.

"Actually, he is," Dad admitted. "I guess you'll have some trouble talking to him, then. But really. You have to learn how to fly in the heat of battle with arrows coming up at you and possibly other flying animals from Jupiter attacking. If it helps, Kenneth, Kendra and Haley are all learning this as well."

Alina still didn't look convinced. "Dad, don't bring our neighbors into this. Please. I'll learn those "fighting techniques" that you want us to learn, but I'm not entirely sure I believe the whole Neptune thing."

Suddenly, thunder crashed. I looked outside. It was perfectly clear! "Umm, dad?" Dad looked out the window as well. "What's going on?" I inquired of my father.

Dad grinned. Yes, he grinned. I was shocked. I'd never seen my dad grin in my entire life. I wasn't entirely sure it was a good thing. "They're coming, dear," Dad said to mom.

Mom looked pleased. "Finally. We've been expecting them for quite some time."

Alina still looked confused. "What's happening? What's all that noise?" She asked mom. Mom didn't answer right away, and Alina clutched at her shirt. "Mom! Please, enlighten me since you seem to know what's happening!" There was a hysterical edge to Alina's voice.

"Don't worry, Alina," Dad said from the window. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Come and look at our newest family members."

Alina, trembling slightly, walked towards us. I had already seen what it was: two dragons. One dark blue the color of the night sky, the other a light gray the color of clouds with a hint of rain in them.

"That one's Quillan," Dad said, pointing to the dark blue one, "And that one's Kerina. They finally decided to join us on Earth, I guess."

Alina was trembling. "Okay, Dad, I believe you now. Please, though, are we really Neptune-what's the term for people from Neptune?" She asked Mom.

"Neptunians." Mom stated with a smile. Probably she was glad that Alina believed her. I did, too.

"So we're Neptunians?" I asked. Dad nodded. "Okay. So we're actually aliens. How can you prove it?"

Dad looked at me. "Why do you think we never wanted you to wash your face very hard?" He reached over and started scratching at the skin near my hairline. Finally, he made a triumphant noise and pulled my skin off. I freaked out.

"My skin! You're pulling it off!" I clapped my hands to my face to keep it from peeling off further.

Mom did the same thing to Alina. Little patches of skin, about the length of a CD case and about as wide as the neck of the guitar, peeled off and revealed skin underneath. "Fake skin," Mom announced as she did Alina's other side. "Just little patches to cover up your temples on down to your necks."

I looked at my reflection in the picture next to our window. A patch of dark gray spread from the corners of my eyes, down the side of my face and ended at my chin. The entire thing was only about as wide as two pencils put side to side. As I turned my face from side to side, little streaks of amber-gold showed up around the edges.

Alina was doing the same thing, only using a mirror. "Jonathan, look at this!" she hollered. She turned to face me. Instead of blocks of color, blue the color of Javis' hide swirled down from her eyes, following the same path mine did. As she turned her head, I saw that burnt orange edged the blue, following the contours of the tattoo-like thing exactly.

"Royalty have always had dragons. As soon as it hatches, that forms, according to the colors of your dragons." Mom explained.

Alina was still getting used to her new appearance. "It's pretty. But what, exactly, is it?"

"Colored pigmentation under your skin forms when your bond with your dragon does. Luckily, we had the good sense to put that one when you were born." Dad said, looking at mom and smiling.

I went outside, followed closely by Alina and our parents. I got very nervous as we approached the senior dragons. "Dad? What's proper dragon etiquette?" I asked.

Dad laughed. "Just be polite. They'll want to talk to you about some things, and then your training will begin. The other children will be joining you, including the nieghbors."

I hesitantly approached Quillan. His color seemed to get a little lighter as I grew closer, the almost white gray spikes on his neck just beginning turn a darker gray. I assumed that meant he was getting older. I bowed respectfully. "Sir," I whispered after swallowing a couple times.

_Ah. You must be Jonathan, Jr. My, how big you've gotten. You were just two months old last time I saw you._ I made a face at the familiar statement. _I know, I know, you probably hear that a lot from people who haven't seen you in a while._ Quillan did the dragon equivalent of a smile. _Now. Let me look at you._ He backed up a little, looking me up and down. _Yes, yes, very good. You kept them in excellent shape, Jonathan,_ Quillan said to my dad after inspecting Alina.

Kerina was busy getting reacquainted with mom to notice us for the moment. Alina went over to mom and said something to her in a low voice once she was seen. Mom nodded and looked at Kerina, who laughed, said something and looked at me.

_Hello, Jonathan._ She came over, rubbing the side of her head against my face. _You've gotten so big while you were gone. Are you ready to start your training now?_

I nervously nodded. "Yes, I hope so at least."

_Excellent. Now, can I meet your dragons? I need to tell them a couple things._ Kerina smiled. _After all, I haven't seen them since I sent them to earth as eggs._

I bowed to her and called Trahern over. _And bring Javis, too,_ I added.

_Coming, coming,_ Trahern grumbled. _Come on, Javis, hurry up!_ He yelled back to his sister, who was at the bottom of the hill talking to Amaris.

Javis said something back and they eventually got to the elder dragons. They spoke for a while, and then Quillan looked at me again.

_Get your saddle. Training begins at once, there's not much time to lose._

_A/N: Now Jonathan and Alyssa's dragons are in on the scheme! Next chapter coming soon, after I get reviews. No reviews, no chapter eleven._


	11. Training Begins

Chapter Eleven

Alina: Quillan called me over to where Jonathan was standing by Trahern. Javis followed.

_Ah, Alina. How good of you to join us. I'm going to call your friends over and training will begin immediately afterwards. It will be vigorous and difficult, but you will need these skills on Neptune, _Quillan said.

I shook my head. "Wait a minute, sir, are our neighbors royalty, too? Because Mom said that only royalty have dragons."

Kerina smiled. _Neptune has three regions. They're similar to what you call continents. The rest of the planet is just oceans. You are the royalty on the biggest...continent. That's why there has to be so many of you. You'll each govern a region when you're old enough. Your neighbors, the ones nearest you at the bottom of the hill, they'll govern a smaller continent separated from the largest by a couple miles of water. Your other neighbors family rules the smallest continent. It's near the bottom of the world, but not quite on the pole. Your siblings will be joining us as soon as they get back from wherever they are,_ Kerina finished. She looked at mom. _Just how long will that be, Alyssa?_

It was still weird to hear my moms first name instead of just plain "mom." Mom laughed. "They'll be here within the hour, Kerina. How about you start with these two and their friends, and the littler ones can start when they get here. You might want to take it easy with them for the first few days. They are young still."

Kerina agreed to this and had Quillan call the neighbors dragons. They arrived at a dead run, their people dashing after them.

"Come back, Amaris!" Kendra howled as she puffed up the hill. "I have got to get in better shape," she muttered as she stopped by me. "Hi, Alina."

I greeted her in return, but then Kerina shushed us. _I'm glad you all could make it. I am Kerina, Alyssa's dragon. I have been on Neptune for the past fifteen years, but I have come back to earth with Quillan, my mate, with the intention of training you young people to save the planet._

Kenneth's jaw dropped. "We're going to Neptune?"

Quillan frowned. _Your parents haven't told you? Oh well. I'll explain it. You see, sixteen years ago, almost to the day, the fools on Jupiter attacked our planet. We have no idea why, they just did. They have always been prone to war on that planet. Anyway, to protect you, your parents came to Earth because it's the only other planet besides Jupiter that can sustain life._

Haley raised her hand. "But I thought that those space satellites said that Earth was the only planet that had a breathable atmosphere?"

Kerina laughed. _NASA has no idea of the technology of Neptune. You think that we would not put up a sort of force field to shield ourselves from the probes? It just recorded the information we encoded in the force field and transmitted it back to NASA._

Haley nodded. "That makes sense."

Kerina smiled. _I'm glad. Continuing Quillan's explanation, you are the ruling families from the three continents on Neptune. I'll explain in more depth later. First, your training starts._

Quillan interrupted. _Okay! We're going to start with the dragons first. Do any of you know how to breathe fire?_

Javis hunched down. _I can get a tiny flame, but not very often,_ she said. I looked at her in shock. She'd never told me that!

_It's all right. Not many dragons can learn on their own, _Kerina said sympathetically.

I looked at Javis. "What else can you do that you haven't told me about?"

Javis looked uncomfortable. _Just that. Honest, Alina, just that. I was going to tell you later, once I got better at it, I was kind of keeping it as a surprise...but I guess I was wrong. Sorry._

Javis did look very sorry, so I let it pass. _It's all right. I just thought that you'd been keeping things from me, that's all._

Quillan got our attention again by thumping his tail against the ground and clearing his throat. _All right, how many of you have riding saddles?_ We all raised our hands. _Oh, good,_ Quilllan said, sounding vaguely satisfied. _Get them, please, we're going to practice diving and shooting flames._ At this, Javis and all the other dragons looked uncomfortable.

Trahern said something to Quillan, which made the elder dragon nod and add, _Don't worry, I'm going to show you how and tell you what to do first._ He smiled. _I would never leave you in the dark with something this important._

Kerina playfully shoved him. You'd better not. What would their parents say? Now, please get your saddles, unless you already have them on your dragons. She looked at the dragons in question. Ah! You all have them on already. Excellent. That will save some time. She said something to Quillan, who gave the dragons a brief summary and a demonstration on how to breathe fire. Then he had us get on our dragons and take off, leading us high into the clouds, where it was cold.

I told myself that I'd bring a jacket next time we practiced.

Then Quillan dove. Javis and the others followed, and I leaned back so that the wind coming at me wouldn't rip me out of the saddle. At the very last minute, Quillan pulled up, snapped open his jaws and breathed a long tongue of fire at a target Kerina had set up. Conan was the only dragon to get a respectable amount of flame, so we landed and Quillan went over fire-breathing technique again.

Then it was back into the clouds for another dive-and-flame session. This time, Conan and Trahern both got flames. They were sent over to practice on another target set up for that purpose while Quillan lectured us yet again, and the younger children's dragons, which had just arrived.

The younger kids were all sitting on their dragons when we had landed the second time, and they'd joined us. Quillan gave a more specific lesson on how to breathe fire to the dragons, and we had to go up higher than we'd normally fly yet again. I'd gotten a jacket by this time and was much warmer. On this dive, Fabian, who was a natural at the fire-breathing, Amaris and Javis both got flames. We were sent over to join the boys, who were getting really good at dive-bombing and flaming at the same time.

"Hey, Amanda, Kendra...Alina," Kenneth said as we prepared to take off again. Jonathan laughed, but wouldn't say why.

We soared up into the sky, turned as one and dove back down again, pulling up about twenty feet off the ground and the dragons breathing long tongues of fire. Javis seemed immensely pleased with herself, and Arra and Dion joined us.

Adair high-fived Amanda when we got off two dives later. Kerina replaced the target, as we'd burnt that one to a crisp, and let the others try. Estelle and Larita were the last to learn, which Quillan said was normal. _Some dragons take longer to learn how to do things. You'll notice that they pick up other things faster than this._

He was right. Larita and Estelle were the first to master aerial spins, where they corkscrewed while diving. Kerina said that the trick was useful for dodging missiles, as the warfare on Neptune was still rather primitive. They used rocks shot from catapults and bows and arrows, but fought with laser swords and shields.

Personally, I couldn't see the point of the excercise, but if Kerina and Quillan saw the need to learn it, we might as well learn it. After we'd mastered the aerial spin, we took on new challenges, like fighting from dragon-back. I had to learn how to shoot arrows while sitting on Javis' back, how to use a small slingshot to shoot explosive rocks at the ground and things like that.

Kerina told me that when we got to Neptune, I'd have to learn how to fight with a laser sword and shield, becaues it could be useful if Javis got shot down. I shuddered at the thought of my beloved dragon getting shot at, and resolved to learn those skills, but to do my best to keep Javis from being injured.

_Alina?_ Javis asked later that day, while we were taking a snack break. Mom had made chocolate peanut butter chip cookies, and Quillan let us take a few minutes to eat those and drink a glass or two of water. I brought out a huge tub and filled with it with cold water from our hose. The dragons eagerly drank from that, even though the water wasn't all that clean. I'd attached a filter to the hose, something that I'd bought off the internet, but it didn't do as great a job as I wished it did.

_Alina?_ Javis asked again, when I didn't answer right away.

_Yes, Javis?_ I replied.

_Are you enjoying this? I mean, I am, sort of, but I'm not really used to all this excercise and my wings hurt. Not that you're heavy, or anything, it's just taking off twenty or thirty times is hard on them._

I laughed at Javis' hurried attempt to avoid hurting my feelings. _It's all right, my wonderful Javis._ Javis blushed at the comment, turning a brighter blue. It was interesting to watch. _No offense taken,_ I added.

Kenneth and Jonathan joined us, their dragons following at a distance. Conan and Trahern were bonding very quickly, as there wasn't a whole lot of age difference between the two. Jonathan sat next to me, Kenneth on the other side of him.

After a few minutes of silence, in which Kendra sat next to me, Kenneth remarked, "Don't you think it's odd that we only got dragons in our gender? I mean, the girls didn't get a guy dragon, and the guys didn't get a girl dragon. Isn't that sort of...I don't know, strange?"

Quillan looked up. _That's because if or when you marry, you have to marry royalty and since the dragons you have become matese as well..._ He let the sentence trail off, because it was obvious we understood his meaning. I blushed hard.

"Yikes."

Javis laughed in my head. _So who are you going to marry, Alina?_

The other dragons, who had obviously heard the comment, looked up as I struggled to find an answer. Trahern was grinning, as much as a dragon could grin. _Well?_

It was obvious that the others were enjoying watching me try to find a reply to the question. Kenneth, especially, was looking at me in a curious way. "I hope there's more royalty back on Neptune," He remarked. "Otherwise there's not enough guys to go around..." He grinned as I blushed even harder.

"I'm not marrying anyone, yet. I'm only fifteen, guys, give me a break!"

Javis laughed again. _Good enough for me._

I glared at her. "Thanks a lot."

Javis didn't answer, just went over to where Conan and Amaris were talking with Trahern, Fabian and Byron. I rolled my eyes after her.

"Oh, come on, Alina. It was an honest question," Kendra said. She nudged me. "Besides," she added in a whisper, "I think he likes you." At my questioning noise, she just looked pointedly at her brother.

At this, I stood. "Okay!" I said, hoping that I wasn't blushing again. "I'm done." I walked away.

Quillan joined me as I hurried away from the others as fast as I could. _Can I talk to you about something?_ He asked.

I nodded. "Of course, sir."

_I want to explain something to you. Don't worry, you're not in trouble,_ he added at my nervous look. _It's just that on Neptune, you're matched with a prince from another region at birth. So you don't have to worry about choosing who you get married to. He's already been chosen for you._ So he'd heard the conversation.

I looked at him in surprise. "I'm almost afraid to ask who I've been matched to."

Quillan laughed out loud. It was a harsh, gravelly sound, just like when they spoke out loud. _I could tell you, if you really wanted to know._

Suddenly, I did. "I sort of do. Would you tell me, please? I think that I need to know, since I'll be married to him for the rest of my life."

_Which will be a long time,_ Quillan nodded. _You live much longer than a human being. You grow up at a normal rate, but after you hit twenty, you live one year for every five human years._

"About who I'm marrying," I pressed.

_Oh. Right. Well, let me think. It's been a while..._ Quillan was quiet for a few minutes. _Are you sure you want to know?_ He asked after a while. I nodded, cautiously. _All right._ Quillan paused again. _Are you positive?_

"Just tell me!" I said, exasperated. "I'm positive. I really want to know, since it's not able to be changed I may as well have a while to accept the fact!"

_Well, actually, you'll be married at sixteen. That's how it goes. But since you really want to know-_

He never got to finish his sentence, because Kerina interrupted. _Come on, let's finish our training for the day!_

We got back to learning flying techniques, fighting techniques and similar things like that. It was exhausting.

That night, I climbed into bed, expecting to fall asleep quickly, because I was so tired. But sleep wouldn't come. I laid in bed for a long time, thinking about the marriage in my future. I really wanted to know who I'd be marrying, so I'd have at almost five months to accept the fact. Jonathan and I would be turning sixteen in a little over four months. Would he be getting married, too? At least I wouldn't be alone, doomed to get married in four months without knowing who I was getting married to. Jonathan probably didn't know, either.

Slightly comforted by that thought, I turned over and went to sleep.

_A/N: So...how'd you like this chapter? Again, my inspiration is running low, so I'd appreciate some suggestions along with those reviews! And also: who should Alina and Jonathan be matched with? Or should they not be matched at all? R&R, people!_


	12. Laser Swords

Chapter Twelve: Laser Swords

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Count Chocula cereal. General Mills does.**_

Jonathan: When I woke up in the morning, I still felt guilty about pestering Alina the day before. I went to her room, opening the door slightly. She was still asleep, curled up under her blanket, with her fake Ewok under her arm. I still didn't know why she still slept with that thing, but if she liked it, fine with me. I took the opportunity to look around her room. Horse posters covered her walls, little statues of dragons, horses and other animals sitting on window ledges and bookshelves.

I saw Dodger, who was asleep on the foot of Alina's bed, raise his head and look at me. I put a finger to my lips and backed out of the room, closing the door gently behind me. I went down to get breakfast and brush my teeth before more of those annoying fighting lessons were scheduled.

After eating a bowl of Count Chocula cereal, I went into the bathroom to clean my teeth. I did a double take when I saw myself in the mirror, still not used to the weird blocks of color on my face, but then opened the medicine cabinet and brushed my teeth without the mirror.

I went outside and called Trahern. My dragon, who had been asleep, grumbled but came. I strapped on his saddle, swung myself onto his neck, and we took off to practice some of the maneuvers from the day before. Trahern wheeled and dove, not flaming but doing the proper technique. He cork-screwed, avoiding imaginary rocks, arrows and spears, then landed again. "That was excellent!" I praised him.

Trahern blushed with pride. _Thanks, Jonathan,_ he said in a shy tone. I'd never heard him shy before, so that was a surprise. _You're a good rider,_ Trahern added. He nudged my chest with his nose. _You'll make a fine king someday._

I scratched the spot just in front of his wing, making him close his eyes and sigh with pleasure. "You are a fine dragon already."

Javis jogged up from the bottom of our hill, shaking dew off her scales. _Good morning,_ she told us in a bright tone. Y_ou're up early today. Practicing, are we?_ She asked in a knowing tone. At our nods, she added, _It's a great idea. Alina should be out here practicing, too. Why isn't she?_

"She's still asleep, Javis. Why don't you go wake her up?" Javis half walked, half flew up to Alina's room, raising her head and sticking her nose in the window. A few minutes later, Alina climbed out the window with her riding saddle and secured herself on Javis' neck. They took off, practicing the same maneuvers Trahern and I had just been executing. I swung myself onto Trahern's neck again and he took off, joining Javis in the sky.

The two dragons soared high, so high, in fact, that beads of moisture began to form on their scales. It was a little hard to breathe, so I told Trahern to fly a little lower. Javis followed his example. _Sorry, I forgot that your lungs are different from ours,_ Trahern apologized to me. _We're used to flying up that high._

I patted his neck. "It's okay," I assured him. "I forget things all the time." I looked up as Javis dove past us, cork-screwing as she went. She snapped open her wings at the last minute, landing gracefully, and Alina slipped off.

Trahern landed as well, just as gracefully as Javis, and I slipped off his neck and stood by his shoulder as our siblings trooped out of the house. Quillan lined us up for inspection, nodding with approval at them one at a time. Haley joined the end of the line, breathing hard from running. Kerina smiled at her. _Welcome, Haley, Larita,_ she said in her warm tones.

_Today we will not be flying. Your father and mother will be teaching you how to fight with a sword and shield,_ Quillan said. Y_ou will be wearing armor, but not the armor like in Earth's past. This armor is different. It's made of a substance lighter than aluminum but harder than diamonds, which will protect you better than the armor of old. It's from Neptune,_ he added when Amanda asked how that was possible when no substance was harder than diamonds.

Kenneth and Kendra ran up then, earning a look of reproach from Quillan. Kenneth leaned over, his hands on his knees, and gasped out, "Sorry we're late. My alarm clock didn't go off and then I couldn't get Conan to get up, then Kendra was telling me that we were late and I couldn't find my shoes and-"

Quillan cut him off. _It's all right. Just don't let it happen again._ Kenneth nodded. My parents came out, my Dad holding a pile of something shiny. My Mom, dressed in something odd-looking and grayish, gave us each what looked like a lightsaber but wasn't. I was first in line. The moment she put mine in my hand, a gray and amber light came from the handle.

"A laser sword," mom told me at my astonished noise. "Don't worry, your armor is coming soon." She continued down the line, handing out laser swords as she went.

Dad came to stand in front of me, pointed to the ground and said one word that crackled with energy. A box appeared in front of me. I nearly fell over in surprise. "Dad, you can do magic?"

Dad looked offended. "Of course not. That's just a transportation word. Your armor was back on Neptune, so I had to send for it. It's not magic, just sort of a...universal postal service, if you will. You say what you want and it appears. Simple."

It didn't seem simple to me. I shrugged and knelt in front of the box, opening the flaps. Inside there lay a gray chest-plate. I picked it up. It didn't feel like metal and it bent easily, like leather. I raised my eyebrows at my dad.

"Allatin. Very durable. It'll last nearly forever and won't puncture easily."

I nodded and put it on. Dad had to help with the side straps, but when it was on, it felt more like a shirt than a piece of armor. I strapped on the gauntlets and ankle shields, and a faint amber-gold glow appeared over the exposed parts of my body. There was no helmet. I looked at my dad again.

"You don't need one. Try cutting your arm." I pulled out my knife and opened it, but looked at my dad. "Trust me." I slashed at my arm, but the knife wouldn't touch it. "It's kind of like a forcefield, but it hugs your body. If you take off the chest-plate it'll go away, so I don't recommend doing that with your knife unless you have it on. But you'll get a helmet, eventually, when we get to Neptune. It'll have our standard on it." Dad made Alina's box appear in front of her and instructed me to help her put it on.

I looked at Alina, who was beside me. She had opened her box and was holding up a blue chest-plate. It was more feminine than mine, obviously, and she had figured out by watching me how to put it on. She had to have me do the straps under her arms, but other than that put it on herself. A burnt orange glow immediately sprung up when she put on her gauntlets. When she patted Javis, I noticed that her armor was the same color as her dragon. I smiled.

Dad and mom were nearing the end of the line. Mom was assisting Kendra with her armor, Dad helping Jacob. "Dad?" Jacob said as dad finished up the straps. "Do our dragons get armor, too? I mean, on their heads and chests and stuff?"

Dad smiled. "Once we get to Neptune, yes. They'll have to have some training before they fly in battle, but yes, they'll be well protected." Dad patted Jacob's shoulder and went to mom, who was showing Kendra how to put on the gauntlets.

Mom and dad had their own armor on, and each held up a well-used laser sword. "Now, the important thing to remember is that you never, ever want to attack. Use these to defend only. If you must kill, do it quickly and humanely," Mom said. "We'll attack you. You'll be learning to defend only today. Out of necessity, you will learn how to attack as well, but we're just covering the basics today. Don't worry, this stuff is in your blood. You'll pick it up quickly."

I turned on my laser sword as mom demonstrated how to block. When she turned to me and whipped her sword down, I blocked it effectively. However, in the same motion, she lightly tapped my side with the blade of her sword. "You must keep your sides protected at all times," she added in a loud voice. "The mistake most novice's make is leaving their sides unprotected. We have lost many soldiers that way."

Adair, who was standing on the other side of Amanda and Kendra, raised her hand. "Will we get shields, too?"

Dad answered that one. "Not while you fly, no. It's to bulky and hard to fly with. If you ever march ahead of soldiers, though, you will have a shield, don't you worry." Adair nodded, satisfied, and parried mom's blow easily. She was one of the naturals.

Amara, being only nine, was not included in this exercise. She would be in the castle, acting as a sort of messenger, passing on news to other battalions of soldiers. Most of this would be information on where the enemy soldiers were, but some of it would be requests from Generals in need of assistance. Amara was proud to do this, since she realized that she was to young to fight.

The day passed quickly, and before I knew it, the sun was starting to set. Dad lowered his weapon and relaxed from his fighting stance. The rest of us followed suit. "You are welcome to stay for dinner tonight," mom said, smiling. "But if you want to go home, that's fine with me." Haley politely refused the invitation, saying that her father's birthday was today and that he'd be home from work soon, and that she wanted to be with him on his special day. Mom nodded. "Ask your parents where to keep your armor when you leave. They'll know and have somewhere safe to store it until tomorrow."

Kenneth and Kendra had accepted the invitation to dinner, and we all trooped inside. Alina immediately took off her armor, asking mom where to put it. Mom showed her a manequin type thing and had Alina put her armor on the fake person. The laser sword went in a belt slung around the dummy's hips. After this, Alina went to take a shower before dinner. Kendra was immediately nabbed by Adair and Amanda, wanting to show her their rooms, and she smiled at her brother before being led off by my excited younger sisters.

"Wow," Kenneth said after a moment. "Are they always that...hyper?" I nodded. "I think I'm glad I have no younger siblings."

I disagreed. "They might be hyper at times, but they're usually pretty good. I wouldn't wish they were gone in a million years. They make life interesting."

Kenneth smiled and sank onto the sofa, closing his eyes and sighing. "You have a nice family, Jonathan." He ducked as a football sailed over his head and Justin ran past, chasing after it. "A little hectic, but nice all the same."

Alina came out of the bathroom, toweling off her hair. "Mom, when's dinner?" She asked, poking her head into the kitchen. All you could see of her was her leg, extending out like a dancers. At mom's reply, she added, "All right," and came out into the living room. She pulled the towel away from her hair and shook her head, making little droplets of water spatter across my shirt and across the carpet.

"Do you have to shake like that out here?" I asked. I shook my shirt, which was looking a little soggy, and mock-glared at her. "Isn't there enough room in the bathroom?"

"Nope," Alina said, ignoring my play-anger. "You know how big that bathroom is. Barely enough room to move around, let alone dry off properly." She dropped the towel on the floor and twisted her hair, wringing it out. "Sometimes having long hair is a pain," she remarked to no one in particular.

Kenneth was watching her with interest. "I wouldn't know," he answered. "My hair isn't quite that long." Alina grinned at him, then went back to getting the excess water out of her hair. I rolled my eyes. It was so obvious that he liked her, I didn't see how Alina could miss it. But she clearly had no clue.

When all the water that would come out of my twin's hair was out, she sat on the couch beside me, perching on the armrest. She looked over my head, being taller by sitting up higher. "Kenneth, when's your birthday?" She asked.

Kenneth smiled at her curiousity. "January," he answered. "I'll be seventeen." He looked shocked at this. "Gosh, I'm old."

Dad, who had just walked out of the kitchen, looked offended. "If turning seventeen makes you old, then I'm ancient at seventy-one."

My jaw dropped. "Dad, you're seventy-one?" Why had I never known this before? "Is that why we never celebrate your birthday?" I asked, beginning to understand why birthday's for parents were taboo in this household.

Dad nodded. "Yep. Of course, being seventy-one is the earth equivalent of being between forty-three and forty-five. So technically I'm not all that old." He went back into the kitchen as mom called him. "Coming, dear," he said and winked at us before disappearing into the next room.

Kenneth looked at Alina. "When's your birthday?"

Alina looked away. "October," she said. "I'll, well, we'll, be sixteen," she answered. "And when October comes, I'll be shipped off to my 'match' like a cow or pig or something."

At this, dad stuck his head out of the kitchen again. "Nonsense. You were matched, of course, but that doesn't mean that you'll be shipped off immediately. And I don't like the choice of words. Besides, if you really detest whoever you're matched with, you can always decline. You don't have to marry him."

Kenneth looked up at that, then at Alina. Suspicion arose in my mind. Were they matched? Did he know something that my sister didn't? I'd have to ask him later. Or I could just ask my dad, I supposed. I stood, leaving Alina and Kenneth to talk uncomfortably about the weather and dragons, and followed my dad back into the kitchen.

"Dad, who's Alina matched with?" I asked point-blank. Mom looked up, but only smiled at dad. She was going to let him handle the question. "And who am I matched with? I have a right to know, don't I? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Dad sighed. "Yes, you do have the right to know." He bit his bottom lip then looked up. "All right. Alina's matched with someone she knows, Kenneth, in fact. It was all arranged long before we came to Earth. As soon as she was born, in fact. You, though, are matched to a girl you've never met, back on Neptune. Her father rules a small island off the coast of the continent we look after."

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_A/N: There we are, chapter twelve. What do you think should happen next? I'm all ears for suggestions right now. I just used up the last of my inspiration writing that. And at what point should the families go back to their home planet, Neptune? Oh, and I need a name for Jonathan's match. If one or more of you could be so kind as to suggest one, I'd be very happy._


	13. Neptune

Chapter Thirteen: Neptune

Alina: After Jonathan so rudely left me alone with Kenneth to talk to Dad in the kitchen, we sat in silence for about two seconds. Then, we both started talking at the same time. "You first," I insisted.

"How's Javis?" Was the question he pushed at me. He sat back and folded his arms.

"She's fine." More silence. "Um, nice weather, huh?" I mentally slapped myself. This was definitely not the way to go about making small talk.

"Never seen a bluer sky," Kenneth replied. I flopped down in the chair, folded my legs and propped my chin on my hand. Finally, Kenneth took a deep breath. "Alina, I have to tell you some-"

"DINNER!" Mom yelled from the kitchen, and we both walked into the dining room, eager to leave the uncomfortable situation behind. I sat beside Jonathan as usual, Kenneth sitting on Jonathan's other side and Kendra sitting by me. Mom brought the dinner, which was her homemade ravioli, down to the table and we eagerly dug in after Dad said a short prayer.

"Father, we ask you to bless this food and to bless the young people that are Neptune's future. In Jesus' name we pray, amen."

"This is delicious, Mrs. Johannis," Kendra exclaimed after the first bite. "Absolutely delicious." Mom smiled, obviously flattered. Kendra turned to me. "Is your mom's cooking always this good?"

I nodded. Jonathan elbowed me in the side and I looked at him. "What?" He silently pointed to Dodger, the dog, who was laying on his back and had his tongue hanging out. It was hilarious. I laughed, inhaled a piece of ravioli and started coughing. "Excuse me," I said. "Sorry."

After dinner, Kenneth said that they had to go. I hugged Kendra, smiled at Kenneth and said bye to both of them. That night, before I could go to sleep, Dodger crawled into my bed. "How's my handsome?" Dodger just sighed and fell asleep. I rolled my eyes and turned over, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, it was morning. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I got dressed and ate breakfast, brushed my teeth and trooped outside to wait on the trampoline until Quillan and Kerina called us for assembly. The lesson for that day was, big surprise, how to fight with a shield as well as a sword.

Luckily, I turned out to be pretty good with the shield. It was big, but not heavy, because of the Allatin substance it was made of. "Light as well as puncture proof. I guarantee it." I grinned at him and, while he was distracted by it, lightly tapped his side with my laser sword. He groaned, but laughed. "Beaten by my own daughter!"

The next few days were passed in this manner. Finally, Quillan pronounced our skills adequate and said, _We are returning to Neptune tomorrow morning. Bring nothing but your armor and other essentials. You will have no need of clothes, as a wardrobe has already been assembled in your proper size at your homes. Be warned, though, the portal sometimes makes you feel sick._

Dad smiled. "I'm so proud of you guys."

Javis nudged my shoulder with her nose. _I'm proud of you, too, rider._ I smiled at her. She touched my chest with one claw, right where my heart was. _I am honored to be your dragon._

Whether she knew it or not, that was the best compliment she could have paid me. I hugged her, pressing my cheek against the hard, warm scales on her neck. "_I _am honored to be _your_ rider," I told her in a whisper.

That evening, we invited the others to eat with us again. This time Haley was able to join us, along with Kenneth and Kendra. Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, which were homemade, like most of the dishes my mother served. This meal in particular, though, was my personal favorite. I ate more than Jonathan, which was pretty difficult to do, and felt the effects when Mom brought out the brownies she'd baked earlier while we were training.

"Ugh," I said and leaned back. "I might have to pass on the brownies, Mom." I eyed them and felt my mouth water.

"Nonsense. Just wait a few minutes and come back. I promise I'll save some for you, don't worry." I nodded and walked out of the dining room, clearing my place in the process, and went to play with the dog. I snuck up behind him, grabbed his sides and when he jumped, I grabbed his bone. Dodger whirled and grabbed the bone again before I had time to straighten, and we were instantly thrown into a game of tug-of-war. Dodger growled and shook his head violently, playing, and I had to grab onto that bone with both hands so that he wouldn't rip it out of my grasp.

I leaned back on my heels, using my greater weight against him. But of course, his center of gravity was lower and that gave him the advantage. Luckily for me, though, I had more brains. After a few minutes of the game, I twisted the bone and it popped out of Dodger's mouth. I fell over backwards, landing sprawled on the floor, and held up the bone triumphantly.

"I win!" I told Dodger, and shook the bone in front of his face. He made no move to get it. I heard someone chuckling and tipped my head back on the carpet. I saw someone's shirt. My gaze traveled up until I saw their face. "Oh, hi, Kenneth! I won," I said, which made him burst into laughter.

"That much is obvious, Alina." He shook his head at me. Taking full advantage of my distraction, Dodger shot forward, grabbed the bone and started tug-of-war again. I groaned.

"Thanks, Kenneth," I mock-glared, and sank down so that I was practically sitting on the floor. I pulled Dodger forward, but he shook his head and pulled me over forwards. "Hey!" I yelped and let go of the bone. Dodger pranced around the room, his prize in his mouth, and held his head very high. "Show off," I muttered and turned over, pushing myself up on my elbows. Kenneth offered his hand, which I took, and pulled me up.

"He's pretty strong," Kenneth remarked offhand. I nodded, still breathing to hard from the game to say anything in return. He grinned. "Stronger than you, it seems."

I play-glared at him. "Oh, yes, add insult to injury, why don't you?" He raised and eyebrow and I, unable to keep a straight face, laughed again. "I'm going to go get a brownie," I said and walked into the kitchen. "About the brownie you promised to save, Mom," I said, and saw a large one sitting on the counter. "Is this for me?" Mom nodded, her own mouth full, and I grabbed it. Taking a bite, I closed my eyes in ecstasy. "Delicious. Best ever, Mom!" Mom smiled and patted my shoulder.

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, Kendra told us it was time for them to go home, and not two minutes later, Haley left as well. "Time for bed," Dad said. "We have a big day tomorrow and you need plenty of sleep." We all groaned, but gave him a hug and a kiss and obediently trooped off to our bedrooms. I collapsed into bed and almost immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, mom woke us up early, before the sun was even up. "Come on, Alina," she said, shaking my knee. "Time to rise and shine!" I groaned, rolled over and put the pillow on top of my head. "Now, don't be like that, young lady!" She sighed when I made no reply. "I have ways of getting you up," she warned. Again, I didn't say anything. But I shot up in bed when something cold dropped down my back. Mom was holding my bag of rocks. "Told ya," she said with a grin.

I felt like flopping back in bed, but mom brandished the bag. "Mom, the sun isn't even up yet!" I complained, but I got out of bed nonetheless. Dressing quickly, I grabbed my favorite necklace and put it on, not about to leave it behind. "All right, I'm ready," I told her.

The entire group met out in our backyard. _Are we all ready?_ Kerina asked. At our affirmative, she did the dragon equivalent of a smile. _Excellent! Quillan, darling, open the portal, please._

Quillan looked at the deck, and a blue door suddenly appeared. Amanda looked surprised. "That's the portal?"

O_f course that's the portal,_ Quillan replied in a huffy tone. _What else would it be, a door that you just walk through and go nowhere?_

Jacob jumped into the conversation. "It doesn't look like the portals that are in movies, though. I think that's probably what Amanda was getting at."

Kerina took a head count. _ Let's see, Alina, Jonathan, Amanda, Adair, Jacob, Justin, Amara, Haley, Kenneth and Kendra. They're all here._ She smiled. _We're ready to go!_ Mom and dad stepped forward and walked through the door, disappearing. Amara, in a fit of terror at her parents just winking out, ran through next screaming for them.

I followed at a distance, after Estelle had gone after her rider, and walked into the portal. I had my hand on Javis' knee, but suddenly she just wasn't there anymore. There was a sensation of moving very quickly, and I saw lots of colors swirling around. It looked kind of like a kaleidoscope. Finally, I saw the end and, feeling sick to my stomach, stumbled out the other side of the portal.

Javis followed almost immediately, then a torrent of people and dragons. Haley was the last person to come through the portal, Larita having preceded her. The door disappeared again. I looked around. Apart from a sky of a different shade of blue, Neptune looked no different than Earth at first glance. Then I saw the trees. They were still green, being plants and all that, but they didn't look like the trees in our yard. The people looked different, too, and I realized that it was because of their clothes.

The ladies wore what looked like a cross between Medieval and futuristic styles. Short dresses in the Medieval cut were put on over silver pants and boots. It looked odd but strangely attractive. I turned to Dad. "Are we going to dress like that?" I asked him.

"No, you'll wear clothes practical for dragon riding," he answered. He pointed to a girl pushing her way through the crowd towards us. No one besides her seemed to notice us. I looked the girl over. She was wearing tight fitting gold pants and a black tunic-like thing. Knee high black boots covered her legs.

"Hello," the girl said once she reached us. She bowed, putting her fist over her heart. "My name is Que." She smiled at me. "Welcome to Neptune!" Dad bowed back. Not sure of what to do, I stood uncertainly. "You must be Alina," Que said, looking me over just as I had her. "It's nice to meet you."

I smiled back, still unsure of the proper etiquette. "Nice to meet you, too," I answered.

Dad put a arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry if it's all a little to much to take in all at once. You have the rest of your lives to get used to it." He patted my back and moved off to talk with Mom.

Que frowned suddenly. "What are you wearing?" I looked down and made a questioning noise. "It's...weird." Que looked like she didn't know what to think.

I saw that she was staring at my blue jeans and t-shirt. "This is what everyone wears back on Earth," I explained. "Jeans and a t-shirt."

"I hope you're not going to wear that forever," Que said, sounding uncertain for the first time. "You'll have other clothes, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I will. And I'll wear them, too. I like your clothes." Que looked down at her outfit and smiled. Suddenly, she looked over my shoulder and cocked her head.

"Who's that?"

I turned to see Jonathan walking towards us. "Oh. That's Jonathan, my twin brother. Why do you want to know?"

Que blushed and didn't say anything. Jonathan reached us and half-bowed, his way of greeting people. "Hi, Alina. Who's this?" I quickly introduced Que, who looked unable to speak. "Que? That's a nice name."

Que smiled shyly. "Thank you, Jonathan." I raised an eyebrow. What was wrong with her? Jonathan, however, beat me to asking her. "You mean you don't know? We're matched." Jonathan looked surprised, but took it in stride and smiled, offering to take a walk with her so she could explain everything.

I watched them go with mixed feelings. I certainly hoped that they would be happy, but I didn't want to lose my twin. Kenneth appeared by my side. "Hi," he said, looking around. "It's pretty here, but it's a little much to take in all at once." I nodded, not able to speak. To my horror, my vision became blurred by tears. I quickly blinked them back. "You okay?" Kenneth sounded worried. I nodded.

"I'm fine, really. It's just that Jonathan and Que are matched, so now they'll be spending a lot of time together, I suppose. I'm not used to sharing my brother. Usually it's just us two." I gave a half smile. "I'm just going to have to get used to it."

Kenneth took a deep breath. "Alina, I have to tell you something. I wanted to tell you earlier, but there was never an opportunity." I waited patiently while he stopped, trying to find the right words. "I...I mean...That is to say that..." He stopped again, thinking. "Alina, to be blunt, we're matched. I wanted to be the one to tell you." I raised my eyes to his face. His gaze was slightly unsure, a little scared and a lot curious.

"Really?" Kenneth nodded. "Huh. Fancy that. Well, at least I don't have to wonder who I'm going to get married to anymore." I smiled at him, and was happy to see the nervousness leave his eyes.

"You know, you don't have to marry me." I let the smile on my face grow. "What?"

My shoulders started shaking. "Nothing, it's just that you sounded so hesitant when you said that." My mom beckoned for me to follow her. "I have to go. See you...whenever I see you again, I guess." I ran after my mother, finally catching up a second later. "Are we going to our new home, now?"

Mom nodded. "Yeah, only it's not new, exactly." She wouldn't answer when I asked her what she meant, only told me to "Wait and see." When we reached our house, though, I understood. It was our house. I mean, the house we'd been living in for the past five or six months. I ran inside and saw that everything was the same. Even the mess. I grimaced at it, then went to my room to change into clothes that fit into the culture.

I saw that my closet was filled with clothes similar to the kind Que was wearing, and chose a tunic that was the same blue as Javis' scales, figured out how to put it on, and found boots in the same blue color. I opened my dresser drawers and saw lots of folded tunic-like-things and put one on that was a burnt orange. Javis stuck her nose in the window.

_You like beautiful, Alina,_ She told me, blowing out. Her breath smelled like woodsmoke. _Fit for dragon riding._

Trahern was next to her, and he shoved his nose in next to Javis'. _You _do_ like nice,_ He admitted. _You look like Javis._

I patted their noses. "Thanks, guys." Dad called me from downstairs, telling me that it was time to meet the current ruler of our continent. "Bye. See you tomorrow." I dropped a kiss on Javis' nose spike, decided against such a 'mushy' goodbye for Trahern and just patted his nose again. Then I carefully looked myself over in the mirror, decided that I was presentable, and walked down the stairs to meet the Emperor of Cimarrion.

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_A/N: Okay. A pronunciation guide for the names in this chapter: Que is said like "Kay," and Cimarrion is "Si-mare-ee-un." Thanks to Snowfur for the name idea!_


	14. A Whole New World

Chapter Fourteen: A Whole New World

Jonathan: The park where Que took me to explain everything was beautiful. It looked kind of like the park we had at home, but the green of the trees was a brighter shade. Que herself was extremely nice, and even pretty, I had to admit. She had golden brown hair hanging down to her mid-back, and her eyes were a brilliant blue color.

"So things on Earth are different?" Que asked. She sounded confused.

"Yeah," I said. "For one thing, people usually aren't betrothed at birth anymore. That used to happen, a long time ago, but not to much anymore. And we don't wear...stuff like that," I said, gesturing to a young woman in a strange-looking dress that looked like it came from the tenth century. "I mean, girls don't. Guys never wore anything like that."

Que laughed. "Your Earth seems strange. Probably like how Neptune seems to you, huh?" I nodded. "Well, I'd better get around to explaining things. Your Dad probably told you that we're under attack by Jupiter. It's sort of been off and on for the past sixteen years, not constant warfare or something like that. Jupiter hasn't even said why they're attacking us, so we're in the dark there."

I stopped her. "You mean you're fighting a war without knowing why you're fighting it?"

Que nodded. "They haven't bothered to tell us. But to get on with the explanation. On top of this war, there's also an anti-monarchy group, Amianima, that's making trouble for my parents and the other temporary monarchs that are ruling in place of your parents. They have demonstrations that aren't exactly peaceful. My dragon, Oriana, has had to break up so many fights that it's not even funny. I'm sick of it all. There has to be a way to end this war and persuade Amianima to leave us alone." She sighed.

I patted her shoulder, much like I would Alina's. "I'm sure that there is a way, we just have to find it, that's all. Can I see Oriana?" Que smiled at this, then looked skywards. Her eyes went blank for a second, but then she looked at me again. I heard the familiar sounds of a dragons wings and looked up. A female dragon was spiraling down to land in a clearing nearby. She was black, with gold spikes on her neck and gold wing bones.

Trahern, who had followed us, looked at Oriana and cocked his head. _She's pretty,_ He remarked. _Is she Que's dragon?_

I nodded and patted his shoulder. "Yes, that's Oriana." Oriana did the dragon equivalent of a smile at Trahern, who abruptly turned a different shade of gray.

Que, who was watching Trahern with interest, laughed. "He seems nice. A little shy, but nice." She hesitantly touched his nose, and he snorted. Que smiled again, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. I mentally slapped myself. Why did I always notice people's teeth? "You're a good-looking dragon, Trahern," Que added, making Trahern duck his head and mutter things about girls and compliments. Trying to make him feel better, I scratched a spot just under his head that he liked. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I see he likes being scratched, too. I was hoping it wasn't just Oriana," Que said. She'd gone over to her dragon, and was leading Oriana over. "I thought it was time for a formal introduction. Trahern, Jonathan, this is Oriana. She's my dragon, as you knew already." Trahern opened his wings and lowered his head, sinking down on his front legs. I was impressed. So was Que, apparently. She smiled again. "You have a very polite dragon, Jonathan. Most of them don't bow when they're introduced."

Oriana looked at me and did the dragon smile. _Your dragon is really cute._ Trahern choked and turned three shades darker. I hid a smile behind my hand.

_Jonathan... _Trahern said, his voice a little desperate.

_Well, you are, _Oriana said in response. Her voice was soft and whispery, like all the dragons' voices. It was always nice to listen to them.

Que, like me, was watching the whole thing with interest. "Oriana doesn't usually take to dragons like that. Trahern's the first one she's ever said was cute," she said to me. Quietly, of course, so that Trahern didn't hear. "I think that's good."

Suddenly, the sky darkened. Blue light flashed, then a black dragon appeared and flew past at breakneck speed. I frowned. "What kind of dragon is that? Doesn't look like any of our dragons."

Que rolled her eyes. "Just wait, it gets better." The sky was just returning to its normal color when it abruptly darkened again, light flashing, and two more dragons appeared, a blue one and a red one. They circled a few dozen feet above us, and I saw a light-haired man on the blue, a dark-haired one on the red. "See?" Que said softly.

"Have you seen Galbatorix?" the one of the blue dragon shouted down. "He escaped again. We were just going to punish him, too." the man sounded vaguely put out. "He had no right imprisoning Murtagh like that."

I turned to Que. "Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh and Thorn are all real, too? And Galbatorix? Who's next, Thirrin Lindenshield?"

Que shrugged. "He went back towards Jupiter, I think," she told Eragon, who nodded and said something to Murtagh, then flew off. "Who's Thirrin Lindenshield?"

I shifted slightly. "She's a character out of one of Alina's favorite books. It wasn't real girly, though, so I read it."

_A/N: Thirrin Lindenshield is from _The Cry of the Icemark_, in case you're wondering. A good book, my brother likes it._

Que nodded. "Ah. Yeah, Eragon and them are real. You didn't know that?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't. On Earth, they're book characters, written by a guy named Christopher Paulini. I had no idea that they were actually alive." I laughed. "I wonder if all books are based on real people."

Que made a speculating noise. "Maybe. I suppose we'll never know. Anyway, now that they're gone, we have to go meet the Emperor of Cimarrion. But first you need to change. The jeans and t-shirt just aren't going to cut it, I'm afraid," Que said, looking at my clothes in distaste. She said the words as if they were unfamiliar, which they probably were, considering she lived on Neptune.

We turned back, Que leading me to wherever my family was going to live now. I was sort of surprised to see our old(ish) house, but I was getting used to all of the odd things that happened on this planet. I changed into clothes like Que's, only more masculine. I wasn't even surprised to see that they were gray and amber-gold, like Trahern.

Que smiled when I walked down the stairs, pulling on a boot at the same time. "Ready to go?" I nodded, but stopped for a second to run a comb through my hair. "You look nice," she added after I stuck the comb back into my pocket. Unexpectedly, I felt heat on the back of my neck.

"Thanks," I said, covering for myself. Que showed me to the nearest public transport system, which looked kind of like a bus but hovered four feet above the ground. While on board, she instructed me on etiquette.

"It's not to strict here. Basically just don't talk unless you're spoken to, smile and be respectful. You'll do fine, honest. The Emperor is a nice guy, and he knows you're new at this. He'll be considerate. At least he'd better," Que muttered. "He's my older brother, and if he isn't polite, I'll just tell my parents." She smiled sweetly at me. "That's the benefit of being Princess."

When the transport arrived at the Emperor's palace, we disembarked. The palace was more like a huge mansion, but otherwise didn't look any different than the other houses. We entered, boots making small noises on the highly polished floor, and I looked around at all the murals. Dragons off all colors, with their riders, were sewn into tapestries, shown fighting against multitudes of enemies.

"The History of Neptune," Que whispered. "But we're outside the throne room now."

Que opened the door, and I heard a loud voice announce, "The Crown Princess of Cimarrion, the Crown Prince of Jihnera." I assumed that Jihnera must be the land that I was to rule when I was older, after the war was over. If it was ever over.

I saw Alina and the rest of my family, along with Kenneth, Kendra and Haley, standing with a tall man that looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Alina smiled and waved slightly. Que put her fist over her heart and bowed. I looked at Dad, who nodded for me to do the same. Hesitantly, I did so. The man, who must be the Emperor of Cimarrion, smiled and bowed back.

"You must be Jonathan. I see you've already met my little sister. Hopefully she wasn't to talkative." I shook my head. "Good. She's probably already told you a brief history, and whatever she didn't tell you, you probably saw on your way in here. Those murals cost a fortune," the man said half to himself. "But they were worth every penny. Now, if you'd just stand with your family," the Emperor said, and I did so.

I hugged Amara, who had put her arms around my waist, and gave Mom a quick peck on the cheek. "Hey," I said softly. Alina was wearing the same dragon-riding attire that I was, only in different colors. She looked nice, the blue of her tunic going well with the black of her hair. Now that I looked, the rest of my family was similarly attired.

Adair and Amanda stood together, looking uncomfortable. Though Adair was also looking relieved, and I speculated that she was probably happy she didn't have to wear a dress. Justin and Jacob also looked uncomfortable, for a different reason. They had never liked wearing anything other than jeans and a t-shirt, so they were going to have to get used to wearing the culture's clothes. Thankfully the clothes were modest, at least.

The Emperor smiled. "Glad that you're all here. I'm Xaver, emperor of Cimarrion. Que is my little sister, as you already knew. Your Highnesses," Xaver said, bowing respectfully to my parents, "It's a pleasure to have you back on Neptune. Would you please introduce your children? Five of the seven weren't born when you left."

Dad stepped forward. "Certainly. You remember Alina and Jonathan, of course," He said, beckoning for Alina and I to step forward. Alina glanced at me, then did so. I followed her. Xaver nodded, bowing to each of us. Alina, who obviously caught on quicker than me, bowed back. Again, I followed her example.

He beckoned the twin girls, the next oldest, forward. "This is Adair and Amanda, also twins. They were born about two years after we arrived on Earth." The twins also bowed.

Jacob and Justin were nodded at, and stepped forward hesitantly. "Justin and Jacob. Born three years after we left."

Dad smiled at Amara, who ran forward and stood next to him. "Amara. The youngest, born six years after Alina and Jonathan." Amara, the only one in a dress, curtsied daintily, earning a smile from Xaver. Que got a "oh, how cute is she?" look on her face.

Xaver looked a little taken away. "Their ages, please?"

Mom smiled and nodded. "Of course. Alina and Jonathan are turning sixteen in a little under a month. Adair and Amanda just turned thirteen. Justin and Jacob are twelve, and Amara is ten today." I mentally slapped myself again. How could I have forgotten Amara's birthday?

Xaver bent down and looked Amara in the eye. "Happy birthday, young lady!" Amara giggled and blushed. The Emperor looked at Dad. "You have a wonderful family, your Highness." Suddenly, a loud gonging noise erupted out of nowhere, and Que groaned. Xaver sighed. "Here we go again. Are you ready to fight?"

_Poor Amara,_ I had time to think. _She gets a battle on her birthday._

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_A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get the next chapter. And it's significantly shorter than the last one. Oh well. I've been busy with school. Anyway, Eragon and the Gang belong to Christopher Paulini and Thirrin Lindenshield belongs to Mr. Hill. I don't remember his first name, sadly. R and R, people!_


	15. The Fight

Chapter Fifteen: The Fight

A/N: I remembered the author of The Cry of the Icemark! Stuart Hill. Now for the story.

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Alina: Xaver made a face. "Jupiter is attacking once again. Thankfully they usually give us enough time to get ready to go before they start killing people. Maybe you will have better luck than we do and figure out why they're attacking."

Jonathan stiffened at the word 'luck.' "There's no such thing as luck," he muttered. I rolled my eyes.

Que smiled at him, then turned to me. "Come, I will show you where your armor is." She led Jonathan and the rest of us to a large room near the rear of the throne room, gesturing to the armor lining the walls. "You will have to help each other into it, most likely. It's kind of awkward to get into by yourself."

I grabbed my armor, noticing that Kenneth's was beside it. Que and Jonathan were helping each other, and I sighed, turning to Kenneth. "Will you-?" I started, but Kenneth had already started buckling the straps that I couldn't reach. "Thanks," I added, smiling gratefully at him. With a jolt, I remembered that we were matched. Hopefully that wouldn't mess up our friendship...

I helped buckle those hard to get to straps on Kenneth's armor, then we both went to help the others. I strapped on my final gauntlet, the burnt orange glow of protection appearing on my exposed arms and legs. After fastening on Adair's armor, I took a deep breath.

"Que?" I asked, making the girl look up. "Where are the dragon's armor?"

"Outside. Come on, we have to hurry," Que added, taking off at a run. I followed. Javis was outside, her scales a much paler blue, signaling her fright.

_Alina? What's happening? Why are you in armor?_

"No time to explain now, Javis, just come over." I grabbed the burnt orange faceplate and carefully fitted it over Javis' head. That was really the only place that their scales didn't protect. I stepped back to take a good look at my dragon. The faceplate had our standard, a dragon flying as if seen from below, and fit Javis well. I smiled at her.

Que looked over all the dragons. They were all armored up, and she nodded in satisfaction. "All right, let's go. You will fly above a regiment of troops, diving and flaming at the enemy. Remember, our intention is to drive the Jupiterites off, not kill them. The older members of the group will team up and protect four regiments. The younger members will each protect only one, smaller, regiment." the gong sounded again, twice this time. "That's the signal that the enemy is moving in, and also our cue to start making our way to the battlefield. Good fortune to all of us," Que finished solemnly. Then she broke out into a grin. "Oh, and by the way, try not to die."

"Oh, don't worry," Jonathan replied. "I'm not to keen on that idea." He swung onto Trahern, who took off. Que went with Jonathan, I went with Kenneth and Kendra and Haley went together. Conan and Javis flew strongly, following the other dragons to the battlefield. We veered off in different directions, each to our own group of regiments.

The two armies were lined up facing each other, and both looked up when the dragons shadows passed over the field. A cheer went up from Neptune's side, while the Jupiterites just looked surprised to see so many of us.

Jupiter began the army with a surprise charge. Javis dove, breathing out a long tongue of fire that hit the ground right in front of the forerunners, making them halt suddenly, trying not to be hit. Conan followed Javis, twisting as a large rock hurtled up into the air towards him. In the distance, I saw other dark forms diving, flaming and avoiding missiles as well. I could tell the dragons apart, except for Trahern and Oriana. They were to close in color and I was to far away to really be able to be sure.

The regiments Kenneth and I were protecting/leading rushed forwards, now that the Jupiterite charge was thwarted. The first fourteen or fifteen Neptunian soldiers were wounded, but years of defensive/offensive training had made it's mark; Neptune was hard to beat on the battleground. I was surprised at Neptune's ferocity, though. The goal was to drive the Jupiterites off, not kill them, according to Que, but the soldiers were duking it out amongst themselves.

An arrow flew up, Javis banking sharply so that it missed her wing, and I saw Kenneth and Conan swooping down low over the Jupiterite army, who instinctively ducked. I smiled at that. Obviously the Jupiterites were unused to dealing with more than three or four dragons. Now they had nine more to deal with. I didn't see Kerina or Quillan anywhere, and I assumed that they were either leading a group of regiments farther away, so I couldn't see them, or they were helping Amara get the knack of her job.

With a cry of victory, the Jupiterites gained the upper hand, pushing the Neptunian soldiers backwards. I pressed my lips together. "Not while I'm alive and breathing," I muttered, and asked Javis to dive. Snapping her jaws open, she breathed a long tongue of fire down on the Jupiterite soldiers, who flinched as the flame neared them. Javis had, of course, not meant to hit them, merely drive them off.

The battle went on like that for a while, then Jupiter's side retreated.

While doing a flyover, Kenneth squinted down towards the ground. I followed his gaze and saw a small group of Jupiterites in the middle of a small rock formation, surrounding a lone Neptunian. Kenneth's eyes widened, and Conan went into a steep dive. With a sigh, I asked Javis to follow.

Conan landed, Kenneth leaping off as soon as the dragon had all four legs on the ground. Javis was more wary, circling around so we could see. Together, Kenneth and the single Neptunian faced the group of Jupiter's soldiers. Kenneth whirled his laser sword in a defensive move as one of the soldiers rushed at him. Leaping nimbly aside, Kenneth avoided the blow. The Neptunian had taken care of nearly half the soldiers before Kenneth had joined, and together they took out the remaining five. The Neptunian soldier ran after two Jupiterites who were making tracks, but Kenneth stayed to make sure no one else needed help. He'd taken off his helmet, and was holding it under one arm.

Suddenly, I noticed the last of the soldiers get back up, and draw a small dagger. A warning my father had given about the armor we wore floated into my mind: _"There is one alloy of metal that can penetrate the protective shield. Not many people know about it, but if they do, you have a very dangerous threat." _ "KENNETH!" I shouted, trying to warn him, but we were to high above the ground for him to hear. Feeling my panic, Javis dove towards the two men, but too late. The knife was plunged into Kenneth's back, making him jolt forwards in surprise and pain.

Javis landed, and I leaped off before she was even all the way on the ground. The Jupiterian had obviously used the last of his strength to do the deed, and he was on the ground, dead. Kenneth was on his hands and knees, his face white with pain. I knelt next to him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He raised his face to look at me. "Alina," he whispered, trying to smile through the pain and failing. "I think I'm dying." He said this as he were commenting on the weather, but I could see the fear deep in his eyes. They were clouded, the pain taking a huge toll on him.

I shook my head. "I won't let you die, Kenneth!"

Kenneth managed a smile this time. "Alina, sweetheart, I don't think you have much choice in the matter." At this point, I didn't even mind the 'sweetheart' part. I just wanted to save him. As if his strength was suddenly drained, Kenneth collapsed on the ground.

I screamed. "NO!" Bending over until my forehead was resting on one of his shoulder blades, I closed my eyes. "Please, Lord, don't take him from me!" I prayed. "I can't lose him, he's one of my best friends!" I could hear Kenneth's breathing becoming more and more ragged, and I knew that he didn't have much time left. He had gone unconscious, thankfully, so at least he wasn't in pain anymore. His form blurred in front of me as tears filled my eyes.

Then I felt someone move me a few feet away from Kenneth. I fought them, looking up to see a dark-haired young man holding me back from another young man, this one with blond hair. The fair-haired man knelt by Kenneth, removing the knife, placing one hand on his back and closing his eyes. I could just barely hear him muttering words that I vaguely remembered from somewhere. It hit me: Paulini's book, Eragon. The words Eragon used to heal.

The blond-haired man looked up, smiling at me. "He will live," he said simply, then he gestured for the dark-haired man to let go of me.

I sat on the ground, watching the two young men go. They disappeared quickly, but not before I saw the red and blue dragons taking off. Eragon and Murtagh had saved Kenneth. I smiled after them, then turned back to Kenneth. Grabbing the knife, I stuck it carefully into my belt, intending to bring it back to my parents so they could analyze it and make a protective shield that protected you against this alloy of metal.

I sat cross-legged near the unconscious form, waiting for him to wake up. With a jolt, I realized that my hand was on his back, but I didn't feel like removing it. Since he was unconscious, I didn't have to worry about him. Eragon had told me he'd live. If he didn't, I'd simply find out where Alagaesia was and go kill him. Who cared what Arya would do? She wouldn't even admit to liking Eragon. I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness, but then it hit me: I was doing the same thing. I would never had admitted to liking Kenneth, not even to my diary. I didn't know if Arya had a diary, but if she did, I was pretty sure she wouldn't have written anything about Eragon in it.

I shook my head, realizing where this line of thought was going and not really wanting to think about it. So I like Kenneth, I admitted to myself. Of course I did. He was my friend. _No,_ my Inner Self, the one I talked to a lot, corrected. _You like him because he's polite and nice. And cute._ I shook my head, not bothering to reply. Although, I thought, he was kind of cute. Now that my Inner Self mentioned it. I groaned, and rested my forehead on one hand, the one that wasn't on Kenneth's back. I was hopeless.

Kenneth sighed and rolled over onto his back. I didn't move my hand, just let my fingers skim over his armor as he moved. His eyes slowly opened. "What happened?"

I smiled. "Someone healed you."

Kenneth's eyes registered shock at that. "Really?" I nodded. "Who?"

I bit back a laugh. "You'd never believe me if I told you."

"Try me." So I explained about Eragon and Murtagh being real, and how they'd come and healed him. Kenneth didn't seem surprised. "I saw Galbatorix flying by earlier today."

I threw up my free hand. "Am I the only one who wasn't aware that Paulini's characters are real?" I fake-pouted at the injustice of that. Kenneth shrugged, then his eyes widened and flicked downwards. I followed his gaze until I saw my hand resting on his shoulder. I hastily removed it. "Well," I said defensively, "I was worried about you."

"You were worried about me?" Kenneth seemed more curious than uncomfortable at the physical contact. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Because you're one of my friends, and I didn't want you to die."

Kenneth smiled a little. "You consider me a friend?"

"Of course I do. What else would I consider you?"

Now it was Kenneth's turn to shrug. "I don't know, I just wasn't expecting you to say that." At my questioning noise and raised eyebrow, he added, "I'm not sure what it was, exactly, that I expected you to say, but it wasn't that."

I removed my helmet, placing it carefully on the ground next to me. My hair was starting to fall out of the hasty braid I'd put it in after donning my armor, so I just took out the hairband and let it unravel the rest of the way. "Did you want me to say something?" I asked mischievously.

Kenneth rolled his eyes, smiling a little more. "Not...especially..." he said, his voice trailing off suggestively.

I slapped at his arm, knowing that I couldn't hurt him while the protective shield was up, unless of course I used the knife. But I didn't want to hurt him. "Tell me, since you obviously wanted me to say it."

Kenneth raised his chin and closed his eyes. "Never."

I got onto my knees, then before Kenneth could react, I'd straddled him and was pinning his arms down. "You tell me, young man, or I won't move."

Kenneth sighed, as if defeated. "Well," he said, as if he were going to continue, and I lessened the pressure some. He reacted quickly, prepared this time, and before I had time to register what had happened, we were in the opposite position, except for the fact that Kenneth's hands were on the dirt on either side of my neck instead of my shoulders.

"Hey!" I yelped in surprise. Then I relaxed a little. "Umm," I added quickly, "to anyone flying above, that is a very suggestive position."

Kenneth didn't move. "Let them think whatever they want, Alina." I looked up at him in what I hoped was a hurt way, but my ruse didn't fool Kenneth. "Give it up, I'm about to tell you what I wanted you to say. What I _hoped_ you were going to say." Here he paused.

"Go on. What you hoped I was going to say..." I prompted.

Kenneth smiled evilly. "Ah, I forgot what I was going to say."

"No you didn't!" I shrieked playfully. I grabbed onto his wrists, trying to budge him, wishing that he wasn't so much bigger than I was. I changed tactics when Kenneth didn't move. "Please tell me?" I asked very politely.

Kenneth shook his head. "You are something else, Alina." I blinked innocently at him, putting on my puppy dog eyes as I continued to silently implore him to tell those secret words. Finally, he spoke. "What kind of friend?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"What kind of friend?" Kenneth repeated. "You remember, earlier you said-"

I cut him off. "Yes, yes, now I remember. Sorry, Algebra fried my short-term memory." I paused, thinking his question over. Then I decided to pay him back a little. "I don't think I shall tell you," I said as haughtily as I could with him straddling me and pinning me to the ground.

Kenneth groaned, but didn't move. "Payback, eh Alina?" I nodded. We were silent for a moment, then Kenneth spoke again. "Are you...are you upset that we're Matched?" Somehow he managed to put a capital letter on his final word.

I half-shrugged. "Not especially. I mean, at least I know you. Jonathan had never met Que before we came to Neptune. I've known you for nearly two months." Goodness, had we really trained for two months?

Kenneth licked his lips, trying to get his next sentence out. "Do you even like me?"

I was shocked at this question. "Of course I do! If I didn't like you," I said reasonably, "would I have been worried about you when that soldier stabbed you with the knife? Would I have cried when you were unconscious?" _Oops,_ my Inner Self said evily, _he wasn't supposed to know about that one._ Oh well, too late now.

"You cried?" Kenneth sounded as shocked as I'd felt at his earlier question. "Really? Because you thought I was going to die?" I grudgingly nodded. With a trembling finger, Kenneth gently touched below my eye. He must have felt the salt from my tears there, since I hadn't bothered wiping them away, and his gaze moved back to mine. "You didn't have to cry," he whispered.

My heart had sped up when Kenneth touched me, and now I forced it to slow down. I wasn't ready for another relationship, not when the last one had hurt me so badly. Kenneth's eyes widened as Conan spoke silently.

"You're hurting," he said softly, his eyes full of sympathy. "Some jerk hurt you." Could Conan read my mind, or was Javis telling. Wait, how could she know? She hadn't been alive!

I nodded, feeling a very tiny tear in the corner of my eye, but not blinking it back fast enough. Kenneth touched it as it worked its way down my face. He was so sweet, just like my Inner Self had said.

"Is that why you're so hesitant?"

That got my attention. "Hesitant about what? Getting into another relationship? I guess so. D'you know what happened to me?" Kenneth shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. I took a deep breath. "I was twelve, much to young to be in a relationship like that, but I was in school, so no one was there to stop me. I liked this boy named Nicholas, and he said he liked me to, but then, after maybe a month, I caught him with the most popular girl in school. It hurt like anything, but I learned a good lesson." My eyes narrowed. "You can't trust anyone. Especially not the ones you love. I mean, the ones that aren't related to you." I laughed humorlessly. "That was why Mom and Dad decided to homeschool us, actually. That and because people were bullying Adair and Amanda."

Kenneth looked angry. "Like I said, some jerk hurt you and now you're afraid of getting in to deep. Correct?" I nodded. He sighed. "Look, Alina, since we're matched we're doomed to be together, right?" I nodded again. "But you have a choice. Your father said you don't have to marry anyone you don't want to. So we don't have to get married." I opened my mouth to say something, but Kenneth put his hand over it. "Please, wait until I'm finished. Where was I-oh yes." He took a deep breath, then spoke in a very low voice. "If we do get married, I promise that I will never, ever, hurt you. At least not intentionally. You deserve much better than a jerk with a weakness for a pretty face."

He was even sweeter than I'd first thought. My eyes filled with tears just because he was so good. Kenneth drew back in surprise, and I sat up, pulling my knees against my chest and crying.

I felt Kenneth's gentle hands on my shoulder, and I turned to collapse into his arms. "Alina?" I couldn't speak, so I didn't even try. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay." His fingers hesitantly stroked at my hair, and I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to get my tears under control. When I pulled away slightly, Kenneth tipped my head up so he could get a good look at my face. "What was that all about?"

I shook my head. "Because I never expected that." Kenneth raised an eyebrow. "Well," I said defensively, grinning, "I didn't."

Kenneth threw back his head and burst into laughter. "Alina, you are something else." He repeated his phrase from earlier, which made me laugh as well. After standing, Kenneth offered his hand to me. I hesitantly took it, and Kenneth helped me to my feet. "I love you."

"What?" I asked. He hadn't said the words as if telling me that he loved me.

"That was what I wanted you to say. Remember, I wouldn't tell you?"

My heart trembled. "Is that all you wanted to hear me say?" At his nod, I stepped forwards and put my arms around his neck. "I love you," I said with a grin.

Kenneth shook his head at that, but he smiled as well and I felt his hand on the small of my back. His other hand was back on my chin, lifting my face so he could look me in the eye. "I love you, Alina." Then, slowly, ever so slowly, Kenneth bent his head over mine, gently touching my mouth with his own. My heart skipped a beat at this, then resumed it's natural rhythm.

_Finally,_ Javis remarked to no one in particular. Then, in response to something Conan must have said, she answered in a secretive tone, _She's liked him ever since she met him. But she never would have admitted it._

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_A/N: Well, there it is: chapter fifteen. Sorry it took me so long, but the chapter is seven pages long on OpenOffice and it took me a while to get enough time to work on it. Anyway, thanks to anyone who reviewed, they are much appreciated!_


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